Shannon Fabiani
“What has been called to focus lately, due to the necessary replacement of the Columbus statue, is my Italian side. The claim of some of my Italian-American neighbors that Columbus represents our Italian heritage, a source of pride in our family tree, has prompted me to dig deeper into what my ancestry means to me.
My father’s mother and father were both full blooded Italian, first generation Americans. Apparently, my grandmother’s family was from Sicily. My grandmother worked as a seamstress and persevered as the mother of three. Her husband died when my father was just eight years old. My father brought money to his mother by clamming in Long Island. Still, Nonnie was generous to her grandkids and all who knew her.
Nonnie was a force. She always lifted me and my siblings up- brought us out of bad moods and dark places, kept us going. My father came up and has been carrying that torch for us now. This is the resolve, strength, hard work, and tough-love compassion that come to mind when I think of my Italian heritage.
I am proud to be part of this group of women. I know my grandmother would be proud of me as well. She never gave up, and neither will I. It would be ideal to have a plan in place for the statue’s replacement, but we do not need to wait for that- nor should we. Every day Columbus stands tall in the middle of our city is another day the spirit and community of our City is misrepresented and our BIPOC neighbors disrespected. Let us remove him NOW and replace him after the fact. There are many options and ideas we could borrow from other cities, like temporary art installations or educational exhibits. But in order to replace it, it must be removed first!
Removing the Columbus statue does not erase history, it shifts focus on who we idolize given 'new' perspectives on the past. It is a patriotic act to tear down the false idols of our culture, to fight for the truth over a lie that helps injustice to perpetuate itself in our communities today. My grandparent’s persevered through prejudice and discrimination when they arrived in Brooklyn. Their struggles, and many of our struggles today, have deep roots.”