October 1997
Bands March On As Columbus Day Controversy Continues Indigenous Peoples Day for some, Italian Achievement Day for others, it's also called Discoverers' Day or Pioneers' Day. But traditionally, the second Monday of October has been known as Columbus Day, and it is one of only 10 holidays proclaimed by the federal government.
Columbus Day commemorates the Italian navigator's first landing in the New World on October 12, 1492. Recorded celebrations in the United States date back to 1792, when the Society of St. Tammany organized a ceremony in New York City marking the 300th anniversary of the landing. In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every Oct. 12 as C-Day, and in 1971, Richard Nixon declared the second Monday of the month a public holiday.
"For most of Americans it was an 'unconflicted' holiday," said Lois Rudnick, director of the American Studies undergraduate program. The 500-year celebration in 1992, however, prompted many people to question the significance of the holiday, she said.
Today, though the president annually proclaims Columbus Day, it is one of the most hotly debated days off. Many question why Columbus is credited with discovering an already inhabited land. Others believe he was not the first explorer to arrive in the New World. Some blame the explorer for leaving what they believe was a legacy of genocide and slavery. Numerous sites on the World Wide Web address this issue.
"The United States honors only two men with federal holidays bearing their names," anthropologist and author Jack Weatherford wrote in the Baltimore Evening Sun. "In January we commemorate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., who struggled to lift the blinders of racial prejudice and to cut the remaining bonds of slavery in America. In October, we honor Christopher Columbus, who opened the Atlantic slave trade and launched one of the greatest waves of genocide known in history," he wrote.
Students of Rudnick mull over the following passage found on their syllabi from Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson: "October 12. The Discovery. It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it."
"By the time Columbus Day arrives, my students have already had the opportunity to think about what this means," Rudnick said. "Why Columbus?" Rudnick says. "Shouldn't there be a holiday celebrating one of the Native Americans whose lives were decimated?"
Despite the controversy, Columbus Day manages to serve as a day of unity for some communities.
"I'm not really focusing on any negative aspect," said Daniel Toscano, general chairman of the Columbus Day Committee in Boston. "The reason why I got involved is because I wanted to do something positive for the community," he said.
This is Toscano's first year planning the Columbus Day parade, which has attracted numerous groups: the Greater Boston Hispanic Alliance; 15 marching bands, including the Boston University and Lowell High School bands; 12 military groups; ROTC programs from Boston English and East Boston high schools; five Italian societies; elected officials, children's characters and antique car owners.
"I'd hate to see 50 years of pride and tradition be lost," Toscano said. "I just want to make it fun for the kids and the neighborhood."
At 1 p.m. on Oct. 12, the parade will proceed from Charles and Boylston streets to the end of Endicott Street in the North End. An "Italian Night" is planned for the elderly on Oct. 11, and more than 230 tickets have been sold for an Oct. 10 banquet. For more information, call Toscano at 617-720-0317.
"The parade is basically for the community," he said. "It's a day for everybody -- not just the Italians, not just the North End. It's a day for everybody to come."