from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/06/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2023/

A Proclamation on Columbus Day, 2023
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Today, we celebrate all the Italian Americans, whose courage and
character reflect and help define our Nation.

In 1891, 11 Italian Americans were murdered in one of the largest
mass lynchings in our Nation’s history. In the wake of this horrific
attack, President Benjamin Harrison established Columbus Day in 1892.
For so many people across our country, that first Columbus Day was a way
to honor the lives that had been lost and to celebrate the hope,
possibilities, and ingenuity Italian Americans have contributed to our
country since before the birth of our republic.

More than a century later, we mark Columbus Day with that purpose
— celebrating the heritage of Italian Americans, whose hands helped
build our Nation and whose hearts have always carried faith in the
American Dream. For many Italian Americans, the story of Christopher
Columbus’ voyage — from the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera on
behalf of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II — remains a source of
pride. It reflects the stories of trips across the Atlantic that so
many Italian Americans grew up hearing at the dinner table, whether
tales of ancestors who set sail on wooden boats across rough waters to
begin new lives on our shores or grandparents who immigrated here with
little more than hope in their hearts. These are stories of people
leaving everything they knew and loved behind for the promise of
opportunity in the United States.

Today, we honor those stories told around the dinner table and
celebrate what these hopeful Italian American newcomers brought to our
Nation. Italian Americans are educators, service members, doctors,
engineers, artists, Government officials, and leaders and innovators in
every field. The Italian American community is also a source of
strength for our Nation’s enduring relationship with Italy — an
essential NATO ally and partner in the European Union. Together, we are
working to address the challenges of our time, especially supporting the
people of Ukraine in defense of their freedom.

America was founded on an idea: that we are all created equal,
endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, and deserve to
be treated equally throughout our lives. Though we have never fully
lived up to that idea, our aspirations have never let us walk away from
it either. Today, we honor all the Italian Americans who never walked
away from our fundamental creed and who, for generations, have helped
realize the full promise of our Nation.

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’ historic voyage 531
years ago, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and
modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the
President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as
“Columbus Day.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2023, as Columbus Day.
I direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public
buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all
who have contributed to shaping this Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of
October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
forty-eighth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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