Why honor Columbus?

There are a few main reasons why Christopher Columbus is not deserving of a holiday in the United States of America:

1. In his four voyages to the “New World”, Columbus never set foot on American soil. Specifically he never touched land that later became part of the United States of America, or even the continent of North America.
2. He arrived 284 years before the Declaration of Independence and he played no role in the formation of the United States of America.
3. He might not even be Italian, at least in the sense of the current term “Italian-American”. Columbus was born ~1451 in the Republic of Genoa and spoke a language called Ligurian. Genoa was then an independent city-state in the Kingdom of Italy, itself part of the Holy Roman Empire. So likening Columbus to being Italian might be like referring to someone from Tibet as ‘Chinese’.
4. Although many positive things came out of his so-called “discovery” of new lands, very profound negatives are undeniable. One such fact is that Columbus himself was a slave trader (as I wrote about last year) and terrorized and enslaved native people in the Americas.

What to do instead?

We, as a nation should:

1. Acknowledge the realities of Christopher Columbus, rather than a myth that developed over time.
2. End the Columbus Day holiday, making sure people understand point #1.
3. Recognize actual Italian-Americans and their struggles and contributions to this country, during Italian-American Heritage and Culture month.
4. Celebrate Indigenous_Peoples’_Day – honoring Native Americans (the survivors of Columbus’ wrath) and their history and culture.

Notes

1. Thanks to Roxanne Dubar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker for laying bare to the predominant Columbus narrative in their book “All The Real Indians Died Off” and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans, a fascinating and illuminating read.