- A stream ! of Italian-American paraders and an
Indian-led coalition of protesters marched to different drumbeats Saturday,
but an annually contentious Columbus Day clash produced mostly the revving of
rhetoric and motorcycle engines.
A nearly 90-minute parade ran a gantlet of vocal demonstrators decrying the
celebration of Christopher Columbus, the 15th century explorer they link to a
murderous legacy. Protesters lined much of the downtown Denver route, but a
massive police presence and strategic barricades kept the confrontation to a
war of words.
Police arrested only seven protesters, including six for disturbing the
peace or disobeying a lawful order. Another had an outstanding warrant.
Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, said the city's
preparations for the dueling events - about 600 officers were on duty, police
said - produced the best possible outcome under circumstances that have
simmered uncomfortably for years.
"It was successful in the sense that the city protected the parade and the
rights of the protesters," Hudson said. "It's just unfortunate that it got to
this degree. But the air is free from tear gas. That's got to be
positive."
Both sides claimed a philosophical triumph shortly after the parade's rear
guard of motorcyclists representing the Sons of Italy-New Generation roared
past Colfax Avenue on Broadway.
"The racist parade couldn't escape us," Glenn Morris of the American Indian
Movement said as he addressed a post-parade gathering near the state
Capitol.
"Every step they took, every inch they walked, we were there. What they
need to know is every year it's going to be more and more of us. History is
not on the side of Columbus and racism, it's not on the side of that kind of
hatred."
At Rocky Mountain Lake Park in northwest Denver, parade organizer George
Vendegnia enjoyed a relaxed celebration and claimed "a very big victory."
"We outnumbered them, and I think they were a little surprised about that,"
Vendegnia said, although police estimates put protesters at 2,000 and paraders
at about half that. "Denver PD was on their toes. We got as much protection as
any president."
Although Vendegnia allowed that some supporters might have been scared away
by the threat of conflict, he said he thinks they'll return after seeing how
safely the parade unfolded.
And he guaranteed that his Sons of Italy group will be back again next
year.
On a day that began cloudy and cold, protesters converged on the heart of
downtown with four separate processions.
Tribal elders and chanting drummers led the groups on the Four Directions,
All Nations March that culminated at Broadway and Colfax. Aztec dancers
flourished colorful, feathered costumes and danced the "Tonantzin," a ritual
for unity and peace.
The deep thump of more rhythmic drumming and traditional song propelled
protesters to the steps of the Capitol, where speakers addressed a wide array
of causes. Some lashed out at the colonialism they link to Columbus himself,
while others focused on everything from impending war in Iraq to the
Palestinian situation to endangered old-growth forests, just a few of the
issues they define as the "Columbian legacy."
One 22-year-old woman who called herself Xylem, after the woody tissue that
draws water into plants, said she'd traveled two days by bus from Oregon,
where she volunteers for the Cascadia Forest Alliance.
"I'm Italian," she said, "but we can celebrate without celebrating genocide
and ecocide."
A few blocks away, a stream of limousines, horse-drawn carts, floats and
marchers readied for the parade, which was scheduled to begin hours after the
Indian procession.
"First of all, it's about freedom of speech," said Raffaele Vitale, who
emigrated from Italy 32 years ago. "But it's also about my roots, my
heritage."
The event began without confrontation, but protesters met the parade at
17th and Tremont streets. About a block farther on, a few tried to breach the
barricade but were quickly repelled by police.
The procession played out to a few groups of well-wishers and persistent
verbal volleys from protesters. Some chanted - "Celebrate your pride, not
genocide!" - and saw their words met with waves and smiles.
A few in the parade fired back at several protesters who had covered their
faces with handkerchiefs or ski masks: "Why don't you show your face?"
The Italian-American celebration moved along to the snare-drum cadence of
Westminster High School's marching band, which belted out a rendition of
"Louie, Louie" while a few roving vendors hawked American flags, horns and
cotton candy.
As the parade approached the main protest area, double-barricades and
police in riot gear discouraged any close-range interaction between the two
sides.
But a few supporters of the parade waved Italian flags and gave the passing
marchers a thumbs-up from among the dissenters.
Kirk Williams of Denver exchanged invective nose-to-nose with some
protesters who saw his red, white and green flag and challenged him, but
eventually they left him alone.
"I knew I wouldn't be expressing a popular view," he said, "but I didn't
anticipate the vehemence and hate I felt from the other side."
But Indian spokesman Clement Frost praised the protesters for their
nonviolent display.
"Not one of us touched their people," he said. "But how could we? They all
had limousines."
Brent Boyer and Jim Kehl of The Denver Post contributed to this
report.
