Colleen Zawadzki
“My grandfather Antonio Ruta, who was a single parent to my mother and who eventually became my surrogate father, raised my mother on his salary as a Nettleton’s shoemaker on the north side of Syracuse. These hard working people were often ridiculed as ‘Guineas, Wops, or Greaseballs,’ yet they shared a common bond of pride for their Italian heritage and love of church and family. They knew what it felt like to be at the receiving end of persecution and poverty. I have great pride to have been raised by a resilient single parent Italian mother and grandfather.
Columbus does not symbolize our proud heritage, nor does he embody our hard working spirit, “cohones.” We must remove and replace this symbol of atrocity, genocide, and subjugation of the original native people of our land and find more truthful way to honor my immigrant ancestors.”