Bringing Columbus home, in Johnston – John Cianci

Approximately 200 to 300 people filled the iconic island at the Johnston War Memorial Park for the unveiling of the Columbus Day statue. 

Open ceremonies started with Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. who spoke to the crowd, saying the monument was a symbol of all Italians who died in wars, built cities and skyscrapers, as well as to remember the victims of one of the largest massacre in US history – of 11 Italians. He concluded the speech reminding everyone to never forget that no one has the right to determine what we should celebrate.

Following the Mayor, the next speaker was the former ambassador to Malta, and Mayor of Providence, Joseph Paolino Jr. Paolino purchased the statue for $50,000 and then donated it to the town of Johnston where it will reside on the island, complete with its own small fence and 24/7 video security. Benches surround the area so people can sit, reflect and dialogue.

Paolino’s opening remarks included saying that it was nice the Mayor “took his old man out for the day”, noting the presence of former Mayor Joseph Polisena among the dignitaries.

Paolino told the crowd while he was Mayor of Providence he always attended a wreath laying ceremony and participated in the annual celebration of Columbus Day in Providence, including the Federal Hill parade and event.

Paolino recalled how upset he was when he heard Mayor Elorza, had removed the monument and had planned on melting it or selling it – “quite frankly I was pissed off” – and that began the process of looking for another option which he executed by being the high bidder and purchasing the monument from the city of Providence in 2022.

Lynching of 11 Italian Americans

He told the crowd the he learned more about the statue and why so many are in the United State – 4 of which are in Rhode Island, by researching the history of Columbus. He learned that in the late 19th century the Italians were discriminated against – the media referred to Italians as criminals and animals – some of that rings through to this day. He learned more about the lynching of the 11 Italian Americans who were pulled out of jail after being found not guilty of a murder. The irony he noted to the crowd that most criminals want to break out of prison, but in this case people broke into the prison to get them. And even more disturbing was this happened after all of them were found not guilty. The 11 Italian Americans were executed by the crowd. He told of the outrage the world and the country had when it heard about this lynching. Italy even considered war against the United States.

The statue is now more than a remembrance of Columbus, but an artistic symbol of family and hard work. The Columbus statue’s final days in Providence was to be vandalized by some people who do not like it, and demanding that their opinion mattered more than others. They threw red paint on it, threatened to decapitate it. One person who vandalized the statue was a middle school social studies teacher, as reported in the press. It’s unclear if anyone was brought to justice for their actions. Even city officials said that the vandalized was warranted, a shocking divergence of respect for the law.

A safe home

Mayor Paolino looked up to the crowd and said “we are not going to let them do it here”, referring to the large crowd at the event, many of who were Italian Americans, many residents of Johnston, and the high security provided by Johnston for the statue. All costs incurred in moving the statue to Johnston, reinstalling it and protecting it were assumed by individuals and companies in a full community effort.

Paolino was followed by Representative Corvese. He told the crowd no historical figure is without controversy, however, we celebrate the positive, what the statue represents to Italian Americans throughout the country.  He told the crowd when Columbus stepped on America soil he could have never realized that he was creating a safe haven for so many nations – a new nation that would become the greatest country in the world. He said… “This is viewed as a physical representation of the Italian heart and soul.” A nation where, today, millions want to come to experience its democracy, and the way we do things.

Two people – a man and a woman – held signs and shouted “Columbus was a rapist” and other phrases, their signs black and white with red dripping paint. One repeatedly gave phrases to the other to say, and then they would be shouted. Occasionally, they both laughed behind their signs. Some in the crowd questioned whether they were hired to protest. People in the crowd shouted them down and told them to leave, they were not wanted at the event. One of the two was identified by other media sites as Joseph Gizzarelli. Early posts on Twitter gave the appearance of a “significant protest”, with some correcting that to “2 people”.

Newport

Also yesterday, the Columbus statue in Newport, Rhode Island, installed 70 years ago, was re-dedicated with little controversy. As reported in the Newport Daily News, “Columbus Day celebrations focused less on the controversial figure and more on the Italian Americans who brought the statue ashore and the legacy they left their descendants. The monument is never going to bring the community into anything, so we try to focus on food or Italian music or the festival in the park or the parade so that we can bring in the greater community of Newport because it’s the greater community that the monument was gifted to and for because of their acceptance of the Italians who came back in the late 1800s, early 1900s,” said Newport Festa Italiana Committee Chair Diane McCaffrey.

30 signs with 60 family names of those involved in erecting the statue, originally, were part of the ceremony, and each family had a descendant come forward to speak about their feelings about the statue. The McCaffrey family said, “To us, (the statue represents) our family. This is our legacy, this is our family, and so we’re really attached to this statue.”

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To read all columns in this series go to: https://rinewstoday.com/john-a-cianci/  

John A. Cianci is a Veteran Service Officer. Retired, U.S. Army MSgt., Persian Gulf War and Iraq War combat theater.

Cianci, a combat disabled Veteran, served in Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His awards include Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge, Good Conduct, and others.

Cianci belongs to numerous veterans organizations – Italian American War Veterans, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War, and many more organizations. He is an active volunteer assisting veterans to navigate federal and state benefits they have earned. He is Department of Rhode Island Department Commander Italian American War Veterans and Veteran Service Officer.

He is a graduate of Roger Williams University (BS Finance), UCONN business school* (Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans), Solar Energy International Residential, Commercial and Battery Based Photovoltaic Systems certificate programs, numerous certificates from the Department of Defense renewable energy programs, including graduate of the Solar Ready Vets Program.