A great GRAZIE to all of you for having assisted us in New Britain, whether you're a resident of the beehive city or from elsewhere. The Italian-American community was united, and we showed our commitment to our culture and our heritage. Columbus is not only ours as Italians, but ours as Americans, the first to bring Western civilization on these continents, and becoming the first catalyst towards the founding of our amazing country, the United States of America.
Please read the two news articles below:
To consolidate our victory, we are trying to find ways to save the statue in the long term. Although we have won for now, it is not certain whether they might try to do so in the future. If you have any ideas on what we can do to ensure the statue's future in McCabe Park, please reach out to us (see email at the next paragraph).
Additionally, we are building a chapter of the Italian-American Alliance here in Connecticut. We want to be at the center of a growing effort of organization among Italian-Americans in our state and our country to ensure the survival of our Italian heritage. If you want to help us, whether you live in Connecticut or not, please email us at savecolumbusnb@yahoo.com. We need to capitalize on our success and build a movement. This isn't an "our organization" vs the others - we plan on cooperating with ALL Italian-American societies that want to preserve our culture.
This is a victory for ALL of us. All of you that emailed, called, and joined us in public participation were indispensable to our victory. We successfully flipped two aldermen - Mike Thompson and Howard Dyson. Both recognized the value of the statue, its meaning to the Italian-American community. Please take the time to thank them as well as the other four who were with us from the beginning - Aldermen Salerno, Rutkowski, Smedley, and Pabon. Please also take time to thank Mayor Erin Stewart for her veto.
Also, please thank the great people of the Italian American One Voice Coalition (IAOVC), Stamford and Waterbury UNICO, the Connecticut Sons of Italy, as well as the Italian-American Alliance for their contributions. We would not have been able to do it without them.
It is important for us to remain united and mobilized, because though we might be okay for now, there is always the chance that Aldermen Osborn and Anderson might re-propose removal in the future. We have to remain vigilant. Please let us know if you feel that something might change, or if there are updates. Again, our email is savecolumbusnb@yahoo.com
Grazie ancora for all that you have done!
VIVA CRISTOFORO COLOMBO!!