Christopher Columbus is a very important hero to Italian Americans. Most statues were built by Italian Americans after the 1891 New Orleans massacre of Italian Immigrants and the years of discrimination against Italian Americans. Over the last few years a false narrative have been out there about Columbus.

Columbus is a symbol of our culture and heritage. Columbus statues have been vandalized throughout America and it needs to stop. We believe these attacks are attacks against our community. These attacks are hate crimes against Italian Americans and we urge them to be classified as such.