The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is pleased to announce this year's Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli lecture series that will examine the basis of distorting Columbus' legacy. It will take place on select college campuses through the NIAF on Campus program.

NIAF has partnered with Mary Grabar, Ph.D., author of Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America, for a speaking tour. Dr. Grabar will challenge the false Howard Zinn narrative and set the record straight on Columbus. She will present her audiences with a fair and truthful assessment of history based on facts, not on a political agenda.

"As an organization devoted to promoting and preserving Italian American heritage, NIAF strongly supports honoring the legacy of the great Italian explorer Christopher Columbus," said NIAF President Robert Allegrini. "We believe that Christopher Columbus' courageous 1492 voyage was the catalyst that initiated over 500 years of immigration to the Americas by people from every corner of the Earth— all of whom were seeking a better life for their families."

The 2022 Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli lecture series schedule:

Columbus Citizens Foundation on Thursday, September 8 in New York, NY

University of Florida on Monday, October 3 in Gainesville, FL

Florida State University on Thursday, October 6 in Tallahassee, FL

For more information, please email: [email protected] 

The lecture series is made possible thanks to the endowment fund of Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli to honor the late NIAF Chairman Emeritus and the generous support of NIAF members. The endowment's purpose is to focus on Western civilization's global contributions, including the role Italian Americans have made throughout our society.

CONTACT:
Elena Isella | NIAF [email protected] 202-939-3108 (o) 412-596-5848 (c)

About Dr. Grabar:
Mary Grabar earned her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and taught college English for twenty years. Since 2014, she has been a resident fellow at The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization in Clinton, New York. She has published many articles and two books, Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America (2019) and Debunking The 1619 Project: Exposing the Plan to Divide America (2021). She founded The Dissident Prof Education Project in 2014. Mary was born in Slovenia, then part of Communist Yugoslavia, and grew up in Rochester, New York.

About NIAF:
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and protecting the Italian American heritage and culture. To learn more about the Foundation and become a member, please visit www.niaf.org.