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Bella Ciao Buffalo is 'changing the narrative' on Columbus

WBFO Photo/Mike Desmond
The base that held Buffalo's Christopher Columbus statue is bare
Credit Bella Ciao Buffalo

For the group Bella Ciao Buffalo, the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus from Columbus Park is a good first step. Emily Terrana says the first immigrants to the United States from Italy hailed Columbus as a hero, of sorts, because they "needed a person to grab onto to say 'we, too, are Americans.'" That attitude is shifting. "We don't have to be proud of Christopher Columbus any more." Terrana's group maintains there are others of Italian heritage more worthy of their pride than Columbus and his legacy as a colonizer who subjected natives to extreme violence and brutality.

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Jay joined Buffalo Toronto Public Media in 2008 and has been local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" ever since. In June, 2022, he was named one of the co-hosts of WBFO's "Buffalo, What's Next."

A graduate of St. Mary's of the Lake School, St. Francis High School and Buffalo State College, Jay has worked most of his professional career in Buffalo. Outside of public media, he continues in longstanding roles as the public address announcer for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and as play-by-play voice of Canisius College basketball.