George Bochetto — the attorney representing Italian Sons and Daughters of America in its fight to block the removal of Pittsburgh’s Columbus statue — presented legal arguments to the judges of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning.
ISDA’s legal position, in part, stems from a 1955 ordinance that permitted the statue’s construction in Schenley Park; thus, an ordinance must similarly be voted upon and passed for the bronze monument to be removed.
Instead, in 2021, the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to uproot the statue and the decision was approved by former Mayor Bill Peduto.
“The Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter is clear that some rule-making authority is reserved for City Council, and the Mayor must comply with those rules once enacted. In this case, the City Council passed a binding ordinance to keep the Columbus Statue in Schenley Park. Unless and until that ordinance is repealed, the Mayor must comply with it,” said Bochetto.
On Oct. 10, the Pittsburgh City Council unanimously voted to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the same date as Columbus Day (the state of Pennsylvania still recognizes the second Monday in October as Columbus Day).
Cav. Basil M. Russo, the national president of ISDA, issued this letter to the council prior to the vote, which reads in part:
“In an effort to encourage more tolerance and acceptance of Italian immigrants, President Benjamin Harrison declared a national celebration of Columbus Day in 1892. From that day to this, Columbus, who was regarded as a national hero of Italian heritage, was embraced by Italian immigrants as a symbol that they would someday be accepted in America.”
Pittsburgh’s Columbus statue, cast by Italian sculptor Frank Vittor in 1958, is representative of this cultural history.
Meanwhile, pro-Columbus lawsuits are ongoing in cities across the country as a collective of Italian American leaders continues to advocate for their ancestors’ fight for assimilation, from the Great Arrival in the 1880s to World War II oppression in the 1940s.
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