Tag: Italian American

bookmark_borderCurtis Sliwa calls for new Columbus statue in Staten Island

Posted on by Marissa

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, has said that he is looking to have a Christopher Columbus statue erected in Staten Island! Sliwa remarked at a campaign rally on Saturday, September 27, that Staten Island is the most Italian of all the boroughs of New York, yet has never had a statue of Columbus. Sliwa unfortunately doesn’t have a good chance of winning the mayoral race. However, it is excellent that such a high-profile political candidate has not only expressed his support of Columbus statues, but has actually called for the creation of a new one. Perhaps even if Sliwa loses the mayoral race, he will still be able to make the statue a reality. That is something that I would absolutely love to see.

Source: We The Italians

bookmark_borderNew Italian American mural in Springfield, MA

Posted on by Marissa

On August 28, a new mural was unveiled in Springfield, MA. It adorns the wall of the Italian Cultural Center and depicts four generations of Italian Americans sharing a meal together, ranging from an old man to a baby girl. Painted by Eric Okdeh in collaboration with the organization, Common Wealth Murals, it is titled, “Sunday Dinner.” Interestingly, the people in the mural are based on real-life members of the Italian Cultural Center. 

When I first saw this news story and glimpsed the accompanying photo, I thought the mural was nice, but not particularly significant. As an Italian American, I enjoy seeing things related to my heritage. But the statue genocide of the past five years has affected me so deeply that it is pretty much all that I can think about or care about. This mural wasn’t doing anything to combat the erasure of Christopher Columbus or the Confederacy from our public spaces, I thought, so I didn’t really care about it all that much.

But then I looked at the photo more closely. My eyes went to the stained-glass window behind the woman who is standing and holding a bowl of pasta. Specifically, the bottom right panel of the stained-glass window. Guess who I saw depicted in the stained-glass window?

Needless to say, I like this mural a lot. This mural represents a new depiction of Christopher Columbus in public art. And given the horrific events of the past five years, this a very significant thing indeed. 

Check it out here via We The Italians