Two groups that oppose the controversial Columbus Day parade responded to Mayor John Hickenlooper’s letter chastising those embroiled in the conflict by asking the mayor to take a moral stand against the event.
“This struggle is between those who support the celebration of racism and those who do not. As the leader of Denver, you must make a moral decision about which side of this struggle you will situate the city (on),” said one letter from the leadership and elders’ councils of the American Indian Movement of Colorado.
Community activists with the Transform Columbus Day Alliance urged the same.
“While the Mayor cannot legally stop the parade, he can, without violating any laws, take a moral stand, and condemn the parade as an affront to decency and an embarrassment to the city and the state of Colorado,” said the alliance’s letter, also sent Thursday. “Fifteen years ago, when the Ku Klux Klan received a permit to celebrate Hitler’s birthday at the state Capitol, the then-mayor of Denver took such a stand, along with all of Denver’s civic and religious leaders.”
Late Thursday, Hickenlooper responded to the letters by issuing a statement.
“The intention of my letter was not to take sides or further inflame a longstanding volatile situation,” according to his statement. “I regret that both sides of this issue have taken offense, distracting the conversation from its goal of eventual resolution.”
The mayor also said he was sorry: “I apologize if my tone in the letter came across too harshly. It was a reflection of my concern with a seemingly intractable and repetitive situation that divides our community annually, costs taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and puts the safety of the public and our police officers at risk.”
Wednesday, the mayor began the exchange of letters by sending a sharp rebuke to Glenn Morris of the American Indian Movement of Colorado and George Vendegnia, founder of the Sons of Italy-New Generation and a Columbus Day parade organizer, about the yearly conflict over the parade. Opponents say that to celebrate Columbus is to celebrate the genocide of Indian people, while parade organizers say it is an expression of their free-speech rights that honors Italian heritage.
“Frankly, I am sick and tired of this entire costly, frustrating and potentially dangerous situation that does nothing but generate ill will,” Hickenlooper’s letter said.
In their response, AIM members acknowledged the mayor’s frustration and strongly expressed their own.
“Imagine what it would be like having to endure this year in and year out instead of the mere two years in which you’ve been forced to deal with it,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, Vendegnia, incensed over the mayor’s suggestion in the letter to replace the parade, said he was meeting with the planning committee Thursday even ing and that members would be drafting their own response to Hickenlooper.
“The hair broke the camel’s back,” Vendegnia said of Hickenlooper’s letter.
“I don’t like it every time I read it.”
Staff writer Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com.
More online: Read the full text of the letters sent in the Columbus Day parade controversy. www.denverpost.com
