The hypocrisy of Eric Adams was on full display during this year’s 79th annual Columbus Day Parade in New York City as the Mayor participated in the festivities along Fifth Avenue just moments after posting across his social media accounts in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Mayor Eric Adams posted the following message across his social platforms, declaring October 9th of 2023 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day, giving New Yorkers an “opportunity to reflect on the injustices visited against the indigenous people on whose ancestral land we live” as well as a time to “embrace our indigenous and native brothers and sisters and honor the extraordinary contributions of indigenous people to our country.”
About an hour after making this public declaration, the Mayor could be seen walking in the parade despite making no reference to Columbus Day on social. It is also worth noting that his participation in the largest celebration of Italian heritage in the United States comes as the Cultural Affairs Committee of New York City considers legislation that could lead to the removal of Christopher Columbus Statues across the city, including the famed monument in Columbus Circle that the Mayor swore to protect.
At the time of the primaries for New York City’s mayoral position in 2021, the Columbus Heritage Coalition even publicly endorsed Adams’ candidacy due to his “support” of Columbus Day and Columbus statues, both of which remain under existential threat under his supervision.
In a statement, the group noted that they “identified archival video from October 2020 of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams publicly supporting the preservation of the Columbus Memorial in Columbus Circle, the first candidate to do so. Our survey and research led us to identify Eric Adams as the best choice to unite and lead our great city in the post-pandemic period. We reached out to the candidate through our contacts and obtained confirmation of his support.”
Now, the Mayor’s real agenda and beliefs are much more clear through his inability to acknowledge Columbus Day during Italian American Heritage Month. This is also no departure from his behavior in 2022, where he issued a similar statement in support of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
This isn’t the first time a New York politician has given the impression that they care about the Italian American community, only to ultimately show their true colors by endorsing Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Governor Kathy Hochul tried to play both sides in 2021 as well by marching in the Columbus Day parade, only to sign the state’s first-ever proclamation in support of this counter-holiday hours later that exists solely to triumph the celebration of Columbus Day which would leave Italian Americans with no designated day to honor their heritage and contributions to America.
Do not let these politicians fool you. They care about your vote, not Italian Americans. Their urge to pander to our community in one breath only to completely disrespect it in the next is demeaning and insinuates that Italian Americans cannot observe this blatant misrepresentation of their values and priorities.
Resources:
- Mayor Eric Adams for a United and Greater New York [Columbus Heritage Coalition]
