Michael Jefferson.
It has been three years since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin.
The incident was captured by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier on her cell phone. The video sparked outrage throughout the country and was chiefly responsible for spurring one of the largest social movements in the history of America.
Tens of millions participated in protests across the nation led primarily by Black Lives Matter (BLM) – a decentralized Black-led movement aimed at combatting systemic violence by police against Black people.
When the dust finally settled all four officers involved in Floyd’s death — Chauvin; J. Alexander Kueng; Thomas K. Lane; and Tou Thao — were convicted in both federal and state courts. The fallout didn’t stop there.
The movement for social justice took aim at America’s propensity for honoring those who served as standard-bearers for racial injustice throughout the country’s turbulent history.
Hundreds of statues and monuments erected in front of public buildings, in parks and on college campuses were targeted for removal.
For many, including this writer, their dismantling was long overdue. If America stands for freedom, justice and equality, why should those who fought and/or stood firmly against these lofty values be memorialized?
Why should Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy be honored? Or Confederate General Robert E. Lee? The same can be asked of Confederate generals Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Nathan B. Forrest – a slave trader and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan? Really? The short answer is they should not!
While scores of monuments and statues honoring the Confederacy and its leaders (i.e. traitors and insurrectionists) have been dismantled, mostly in the southern region of the country, thousands remain, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The BLM movement also took aim at others for their racist practices. A statue honoring J. Marion Sims, known as the “Father of Gynecology,” who performed medical procedures on enslaved Black women without anesthesia, was removed in New York City. A statue of the famed poet Walt Whitman, who once referred to those of African descent as “baboons,” among other things, was removed from its site at the Camden campus of Rutgers University.
In 2020, following the lead of students and professors at the prestigious University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana who in 2018 voted to remove a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, a student at California State University at Fresno started a petition to remove Gandhi’s monument from the grounds on that campus.
Gandhi’s history of racism towards Blacks, particularly while living in South Africa during the early part of the last century, is well documented. Gandhi often referred to Black Africans as “Kaffirs” – a derogatory slur. He described them as “savage” and “raw” and even refused to sit next to Blacks on public transportation. Unfortunately, to date his monument remains on Fresno’s campus.
Besides those associated with the Confederacy, one of the most controversial historical figures to incur scrutiny was the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Not unlike millions of elementary grade school children I too was taught Columbus was a “great” explorer who “discovered” America.
While the story of Columbus was occasionally challenged by scholars and individuals in the know, most Americans simply accepted the popular myth of Columbus as presented via mainstream education and culture. I am reminded of the words of Napoleon — “history is but a fable agreed upon.” Nonetheless, Columbus is revered by millions of Italian Americans. His fame serves as a source of cultural pride.
We now know Columbus did not discover America. It is an established fact there were millions of indigenous people on the land long before Columbus set foot on its shores. The truth is Columbus and his European contemporaries introduced policies in the “New World” that can only be described as genocidal in nature.
His soldiers participated in massacres of the native people. The European settlers introduced diseases that wiped out millions of indigenous people. In short, Columbus’ presence disrupted a centuries old way of life and laid the groundwork for unspeakable hardships, rooted in white supremacy, for centuries to come.
The unveiling of this ugly truth understandably led to calls for removal of statues commemorating his legacy. Across America, dozens have already been removed. Still, scores remain.
On June 24, 2020, a statue honoring Columbus was removed from its resting place (since 1892) in Wooster Square.
Marc Massaro design
The approved new Wooster Square monument.
Today an initiative has begun by residents of the Wooster Square to replace the statue with a monument honoring Italian American immigrants who first came to this city. The project, “Indicando la via al futuro,”meaning “Pointing the way to the future,” is a far better way to celebrate and honor the heritage of Italian Americans.
Luigi Pellegrino — the great grandfather of one my closest and dearest friends, Bob Pellegrino (a local attorney) is a founder and first president of the Wooster Square area-based “Societa Santa Maria Maddelena” or the Maria Magdalena Society. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest Italian society in America. I know this club like the planned monument serves as a source of cultural pride for him and the New Haven Italian American community in general.
The new monument should be welcomed by all communities regardless of race or ethnicity. Learning to appreciate the accomplishments, vulnerabilities, trials and tribulations of those who are “different” than oneself is to embrace one’s humanity. To quote the great labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez: “The preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect of other cultures.”
I agree and would add – history, for better or worse, should serve as a mirror for all of humanity. Learning about our past is essential to one’s intellectual growth and development.
Sadly, we have all been socialized in a way that stifles our evolution as human beings. For the sake of future generations this socialization process must be challenged vigorously and unapologetically. The ultimate goal for each member of the human family should be to treat everyone the way you want to be treated.
To that end, I encourage all residents of the Elm City to contribute to the effort to honor Italian American immigrants who settled in New Haven. Their story while quite different from the story of African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, etc., is unique and worthy of recognition.
Supporting this commemorative effort is a small but important step in challenging existing barriers that prevents us from maximizing our potential as members of the human family.
I found a small door in my attic that led to a small cubby of sorts. It was hidden behind a piece of wood. When I opened it, I discovered that previous owners had placed a coffee can full of pennies in it. I was intrigued by this discovery.
Obviously, someone knew it was there before I did but nevertheless, it was "an unexpected find in the course of a search", which is the definition of a "discovery."