Transform Columbus Day Alliance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2001
During this solemn period of both national crisis and healing, the
country's condition should neither be taken lightly, nor trivialized for
opportunistic gain. Now is the time for all of us to reaffirm our
commitments to building peace, and to strengthening our relationships on
all levels. The Transform Columbus Day Alliance (TCDA) was founded on
principles of honor, mutual respect and inclusiveness. In this period of
national trauma, TCDA reiterates its dedication to a positive future for
Denver, and for the country as a whole, through events that bring
diverse people together through a commitment to the enduring ideas of
equality and justice.
Consistent with our vision, TCDA repeats its invitation to all
Italians and Italian-Americans of goodwill, to join us for our All
Nations/Four Directions March on Saturday, Oct.6th, without hatred,
without mistrust, and as an example of multiracial harmony.
Specifically, we repeat our invitation to last year's Columbus Hate
Speech Parade organizers, George Vendegnia and C. M. Mangiaracina and
their respective organizations, to abandon their divisive celebrations
of Christopher Columbus and his legacy, and to join with us in taking
Denver into a more positive and productive future.
TCDA is proceeding with its plans for the weekend of Oct 5-8 in the
healing the recent pain that has been visited on the U.S., as well as
the unresolved historic grief of the past 509 years. The centerpiece of
the weekend is the All Nations/Four Directions
March on Saturday Oct. 6th. The march has been endorsed by scores of
organizations from across the country, and thousands of participants are
expected. TCDA also will hold a Day of
Spiritual Unity at the State Capitol on Sunday, October 7th, to
which representatives of all faiths and spiritual traditions have been
invited. We will also be holding two concerts, entitled Beyond Hatred:
Festivals of Resistance to Columbus and his Legacy. Confirmed groups
include Aztlan Underground, Quetzal, Clan Dyken, Julian B., and Atoll,
along with several others.
We also remind the Denver community that the Red Earth Women's
Alliance, represented by Nita Gonzales, is in its thirteenth day of
fasting in support of the principles of TCDA. Among the challenges that
were put forward by those fasting was for Ari Zavaras to deny the second
permit for the Columbus Hate Speech Parade; for the Denver City Council
to introduce a resolution in opposition to Columbus Day; for 100
elementary/secondary teachers to commit to reorient their curriculum to
reflect diverse perspectives on the Columbus story.
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