The New Hampshire House Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted HB1335, the bill to eliminate Columbus Day in the state, “Inexpedient to Legislate” by a 14 to 1 margin, according to the Italian American Alliance.
The committee recommended to the house chamber at large that the bill to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day be voted down.
Nine speakers testified against the bill, including Sen. Lou D’Allesandro and Rep. Susan Porcelli.
The only individual who spoke in favor of the legislation was one of the bill’s two sponsors.
Meanwhile, the appeal process continues in Pittsburgh as Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA) fights to preserve the Columbus statue in Schenley Park.
COLUMBUS’ HISTORY
Over the past two years, ISDA National President Basil Russo and his peers have worked directly with White House officials and leaders to develop Columbus Day proclamations that explore the history behind the holiday that isn’t widely taught in U.S. schools.
In 1892 then-President Benjamin Harrison organized the first national Columbus Day parade in New York City to ease a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Italy that surfaced a year prior when the largest lynch mob over to assemble on American soil murdered 11 innocent Italian immigrants in the streets of New Orleans.
Given the massive success of President Harrison’s NYC parade (attended by more than one million people), Italian Americans used Columbus as a vehicle through the 1900s to fuel their assimilation and fight through waves of anti-Italian persecution. Today, the holiday pays tribute to Italian American pride and heritage.
