For more than 900,000 students in New York City Public Schools, September 5th marked the first day of the academic calendar and a new season of exploration, discovery and deeper understanding.

But September 5th also marks the 4th anniversary of shame, when Columbus Day, a state and federal legal holiday, was suppressed without warning from the public school academic calendar as unworthy of any honor in a classroom of ideas and learning.

I brought this injustice from a previous administration directly to Mayor Eric Adams at a recent meeting of Italian American leaders at City Hall. Now, thanks to Mayor Adams, we will have an opportunity to finally be heard and present our case to Schools Chancellor David Banks to remove this stain, restore Columbus Day and support an independent day to celebrate the contributions of indigenous peoples.

While this is only a first step, I believe this action by Mayor Adams is another important milestone in our seven-year, “Drop the Hate, Seek the Truth” counter-offensive against those who would crush Columbus and his achievements. By now we know that Columbus was the proverbial canary in a coal mine and not the prime target of the haters.

Italian American pride for the great explorer was always understood in the context of humankind’s steadfast spirit across the ages to explore, discover and realize greater knowledge and deeper understanding. The undeniable truth is the human spirit of discovery that Columbus personifies created the gateway of migration to the Americas.  

That is why I thanked the Mayor for bringing our leaders together to meet with him. I told everyone in the room that I was privileged to be with leaders who everyday work to support our Italian American heritage and culture.

As a former NYC public high school teacher for nearly 10 years, I said it was unfortunate that the previous administration suppressed the Columbus Day holiday from our schools. There are 800,000 Italian Americans in New York City who are offended by this action. We know that when you offend one culture, ethnicity, race or religion, you offend all.

The Mayor responded that some people have asked him not to march in the Columbus Day Parade, but he refuses to listen to them. I thanked him for marchingin our parade as our Mayor of our city. At that point he said he would set up a meeting with Chancellor Banks to discuss the issue. I am looking forward to that opportunity and will respectfully remind the Mayor of his commitment. 

We share a common frustration. I referred his stated dissatisfaction over claims that the city is doing poorly. Yes, I said, when people tell lies enough times other people believe it to be the truth.