Tomorrow, thousands of Greater Clevelanders will gather in Little Italy to attend our annual Columbus Day parade. The story of how the first Columbus Day celebration began in 1892 is a tragic example of the mistreatment of immigrants that needs to be told. Between 1880 and 1920, some 4 million Italian immigrants left impoverished towns throughout southern Italy to seek a better life for their families in America.

Upon their arrival in America, they were subjected to violence and hostility unlike anything they had experienced in Italy. Many of these immigrants arrived through the port of New Orleans to provide cheap labor needed in the sugar-cane fields. They took the place of emancipated slaves.