(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A proposal to rename Chicago’s Columbus Drive after former President Barack Obama has drawn condemnation from Italian Americans.
Introduced on March 20 by Alderman Lamont Robinson, the City Council proposal aims to commemorate Obama for being the first black president and former Illinois senator. However, the Illinois-based non-profit Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) lambasted the idea.
In a press release published on March 21, JCCIA President Ron Onesti criticized the proposal as “insensitive and unvetted,” questioning why honoring Obama should come “at the expense of one ethnic group,” particularly Italians.
The non-profit suggested alternative locations for a tentative Obama tribute, proposing the renaming of a section of the street near Obama’s residence or Stoney Island Avenue, where the presidential library dedicated to him sits.
JCCIA said that the proposal poses “an action offensive to the over 500,000 Americans of Italian descent in and around Chicago.”
The group further added, “Columbus Drive was named for the explorer as part of the Century of Progress World’s Fair in 1933 on ‘Italian Day’, celebrating contributions made by Italians to the development of the city.”
In defense of the proposal, Robinson, a Democrat, emphasized what he characterized as the importance of honoring Obama and other black men.
“We need to honor more Black men, and this is one small way we can do that,” Robinson wrote on Twitter, sharing a Chicago Tribune‘s article on the proposal.
“Chicago’s children deserve to see that they too can become Black history & cement a new tourist destination to increase Chicago tourism highlighting where Black history was made,” he further added.
We need to honor more Black men, and this is one small way we can do that. Chicago’s children deserve to see that they too can become Black history & cement a new tourist destination to increase Chicago tourism highlighting where Black history was made. https://t.co/VjBg7mbDiZ
— Alderman Lamont J. Robinson (@LamontJRobinson) March 20, 2024
The proposal follows a wave of left-wing-led protests and vandalism targeting statues and buildings named after historical figures, including Columbus, the some of the Founding Fathers and former presidents.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the proposal requires approval from the state’s Transportation Committee in the city council to pass.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, initiated a review of city monuments in 2020. Lightfoot oversaw the removal of a Columbus statue in Grant Park, the Chicago Tribune reported.
