For Vincenzo Taibi, Columbus Day is an annual celebration of Italian heritage, and the parade through downtown Chicago is a cherished tradition. When he was growing up, his non-Italian classmates might have seen the day off from school as a chance to sit at home and watch cartoons, but the Norwood Park resident and his family headed without fail to watch marching bands and Sinatra-style crooners cruise through the heart of the city.
Now 27, Taibi remains untroubled by controversy over a holiday many link to the legacy of Christopher Columbus and those who followed him to the Americas and the effect they had on indigenous people.
