Mic the Whispers

Recontextualizing the Ocean Blue Italian Americans and the Commemoration of Columbus  1 BY  LAURA E. RUBERTO AND JOSEPH SCIORRA   ON OCTOBER 4, 2017 COMMENTARY ,  PUBLIC HISTORY Unveiling of the Columbus Memorial in Union Station Plaza, Washington, D.C., June 8, 1912. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Maledetto Cristoforo Colombo e quando ha scoperto l’America . (Damn Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America.) —A popular curse among Italian immigrants The attention on Confederate-focused statuary in public spaces has led to reflection on other historical figures carved in marble or cast in bronze. Perhaps no other individual has single-handedly spurred such impassioned ethnic controversy as the fifteenth-century Genovese navigator, Christopher Columbus. For nearly two centuries, many Americans have lauded Columbus as the heroic discoverer of a new world. Even so, in his time, Columbus was critiqued and investigated for his c

A Deeper Darkness from Mr. DiDonna This past summer I had the privilege of attending a permanent exhibit at the Israeli Children’s Museum in Holon, Israel. I was delivered to the venue by an Israeli host without forewarning of what was about to ensue. I could tell something was up by the look of mischief on her face, and this made me a bit suspicious. I mean, it was a “museum,” not a house of horrors. Upon checking in, I was led over to a small waiting area and handed a walking stick usually reserved for people who are blind. I was surrounded by a gathering of about a dozen fellow participants (with identical walking sticks) whom I had never met, and with whom I believed I had nothing in common. As I continued to focus on the sign overhead which read “Dialogue in the Dark,” I searched for clues as to what I was about to experience. My hosts remained silent. Soon, a concierge introduced herself and explained that we would be escorted through the “installation” for the next hour