Why Little Italy had a Columbus statue

Nine days before the statue was toppled, the Italian American Civic Club of Maryland, Inc. wrote and sent this letter, with photos and historical information on Columbus, to Baltimore's Mayor Jack Young and City Council, asking for protection of the statue.

Although the statue commemorated Cristoforo Colombo, the Italian navigator who voyaged four times across the Atlantic Ocean and opened the way for exploration of the Americas, the monument project plan, which started in 1977, was not solely about the explorer as a person; and certainly not about the gruesome details brought to light about the actions he may or may not have committed under his governance. No, it was a monument to an ideal, a symbol of our families of Italian immigrants and Baltimore's Italian community whose native Italian selves, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had the guts and stamina to also voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to find a better way of life in America.

Today, Italian American communities are pressured to stop celebrating Columbus Day, however, the Columbus project began four decades ago around 1977 and was completed in 1984 before the more serious of Columbus controversies were argued. It was a day set aside to honor our Italian heritage and how Italians contributed to AMERICA. 

Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937 by President Franklin D Roosevelt yet was first recorded in 1792; by 1984 it was a habitual celebration when President Ronald Reagan agreed to commemorate the event with Mayor William Donald Schaefer. What a VERY BIG DEAL to the Italian community ... BRAVO, the President of the United States of America - here in Little Italy! Quite a proud and magnificent day and a high mark of achievement for the city and neighborhood.

Yes, maybe by now Columbus is perceived as a "leftover" to some; and maybe there are better symbols to stand for our immigrants. However, the point is - for this incident and similar acts of statue vandalism happening across the nation - it was not an angry mob's place to decide what to do about our neighborhood's monument. Some of the community's Italian Americans were already in a discussion with Baltimore City officials about dismantling the statue when the deed was barbarically and illegally done.

THAT is what is unacceptable. That is the reason why many in Baltimore's Italian community feel so passionate about the incident.

Click above to DONATE by credit card or Paypal to support legal action against the vandalization of the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Piazza, Little Italy, as well as restoration of the marble artwork. Your donation will be forwarded to Italian American Organizations United (the 1984 statue donors & committee). The statue was gifted to Baltimore City and sat on its property. CHECKS can be mailed (payable to COLUMBUS CELEBRATIONS, INC.) to 3249 Pine Bluffs Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21042.

Read July 20, 2020 story on The Catholic Review: Baltimore's toppled Columbus statue may return, but at a more secure location >>>

photo courtesy Devin Valenti Cherubini

In October 1984, President Ronald Reagan, with Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer, unveiled the statue in Columbus Piazza
on President Street to dedicate it to Baltimore City and its Italian community. [Click to watch video, courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]


The Promotion Center for Little Italy is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2010.
Your tax-deductible donation helps to meet our mission of promoting the Italian heritage, immigrant
history, and events of Baltimore's Little Italy.