Commentary: Remembering the Courage of Christopher Columbus

Today we remember the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who in October 1492 landed in the Bahamas and became the first Western European to discover what the Europeans would call the New World.

When Columbus and his crew of approximately 200 sailors left Spain in three crowded ships – the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria – they set their sails toward an unknown horizon. They expected to discover a trade route to India. (Most Europeans at the time knew the earth was round – but they were unaware of the North and South American continents.) Instead of finding a route to Southeast Asia, Columbus and his crew landed on a continent of new opportunities. Columbus’s accidental discovery opened a permanent passage across the Atlantic and redrew the known map of the world.

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Some Ohio Political Institutions Refused to Acknowledge Columbus Day

On Columbus Day 2022, the disconnect between institutions over whether to commemorate Christopher Columbus persisted, with many organizations aligned with progressives and the Democratic Party making no mention of America’s discoverer and celebrating “Indigenous People’s Day” instead.

Conservative politicians and candidates happily celebrated the holiday. 

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Commentary: Robbing America of Her Core Values

Portland anarchists crowned a season of monument destruction in October 2020 when they pulled down the city’s Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln statues and attacked the nearby Oregon Historical Society—despite its having been so woke and feminist for years it could be called the Oregon Hysterical Society. This occurred on what Antifa organizers billed as an “Indigenous Day of Rage” (something that was about as genuinely “indigenous” as the Boston Tea Party) and coincided with Portland’s official (anti-) holiday refuting Columbus Day—Indigenous People’s Day—which promises to grow more strident and violent, if no more indigenous, annually.

Last October, the nation and the city weren’t as far gone as they are now. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler felt compelled to stand with the police chief and denounce the rioters’ actions. But in doing so, he followed the same pattern he and the city used to acquiesce to anarchist and Black Lives Matter political terror over the summer of 2020: denouncing the violence, affirming the anarchists’ right to speech, even sympathizing with the goals of anti-police rioters, and conspicuously not defending their targets—then it was the police, in this instance, it was our history.

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Pro-LGBTQ Chalk Displays Go Undisturbed as Conservative Sidewalk Messages Get Defaced

Chalk displays are common tools for spreading messages on college campuses, but they can also be examples of the different treatment that conservative and liberal students experience.

This semester, a College Republicans’ chapter had their chalk messages defaced while another group of liberal students were able to celebrate National Coming Out Day without harm to their chalk display.

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Columbus Day Sentiment Splits Florida’s Political Landscape

  Monday was the federally recognized Christopher Columbus Day, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a declaration commemorating the historical event of Columbus’ landing in the New World. “Christopher Columbus displayed courage, determination, and perseverance when he sailed the ocean blue more than 500 years ago,” DeSantis tweeted. “Happy Columbus Day!” Christopher Columbus displayed courage, determination, and perseverance when he sailed the ocean blue more than 500 years ago. Happy Columbus Day! pic.twitter.com/6N0MlOkrvZ — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 11, 2021 In the proclamation, DeSantis said the day was a time of commemoration for Americans of Italian ancestry and defended Columbus’ legacy from those who exclusively highlight the impact of the historical events of war and disease the Genoan and the colonists had on the natives of the Western Hemisphere. “WHEREAS, Columbus continues to be a historical figure who engenders the pride of nearly 17 million Italian Americans, a community whose warmth, generosity, patriotism, and love of family have made those characteristics even greater components of the broader American culture and way of life; and WHEREAS, we must learn from history and continue to discuss Columbus’ contributions, discoveries, and experiences rather than revise history, and acknowledge that individuals who seek to…

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Commentary: Remembering the Courage of Christopher Columbus

Today we remember the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who in October 1492 landed in the Bahamas and became the first Western European to discover what the Europeans would call the New World.

When Columbus and his crew of approximately 200 sailors left Spain in three crowded ships – the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria – they set their sails toward an unknown horizon. They expected to discover a trade route to India. (Most Europeans at the time knew the earth was round – but they were unaware of the North and South American continents.) Instead of finding a route to Southeast Asia, Columbus and his crew landed on a continent of new opportunities. Columbus’s accidental discovery opened a permanent passage across the Atlantic and redrew the known map of the world.

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Commentary: Canceling Columbus at American Universities

For years, Campus Reform has covered the trend of colleges across the country replacing Columbus Day with “Indigenous People’s Day.” Fueled by concerns of honoring “colonialism” and “genocide,” universities are opting for scrapping remembrance of the explorer all together.

University of Michigan History and American Culture Professor Gregory Dowd is one of many academics who assert that the country as a whole needs to end Columbus Day recognition completely in favor of Indigenous People’s Day. His view was promoted by the university ahead of the holiday this year.

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Cleveland Councilman Introduces Resolution to Change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones introduced an “emergency resolution” Monday to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The resolution calls on the City of Cleveland to recognize “the annexation of indigenous homelands for the building of our nation.” “Citizens have a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises,” the resolution states. If passed, the second Monday in October would officially be recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the City of Cleveland. Jones promoted the resolution during a Monday evening press conference on the front steps of Cleveland City Hall, where he said that “anyone has the right to celebrate whoever they want to celebrate,” but noted that “as a city we should not support that.” “Everybody is free to support who they want to support, but as an institution we should not back that,” he continued. pic.twitter.com/bK6BbGAdmy — Councilman Basheer Jones (@basheerj) May 6, 2019 “I want to make this clear: this is not about diminishing anyone’s culture. It’s about opening up and saying that indigenous people also have a right because this was their country before…

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Vanderbilt University Student Newspaper Says Christopher Columbus Was Worse Than Serial Killers

The editorial board of the Vanderbilt University student newspaper wrote an opinion piece Wednesday criticizing the school for not doing enough to denounce Columbus Day, which was Monday. The editorial described Christopher Columbus as being worse than notorious American serial killers. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry issued a proclamation urging people to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Metro Council passed a resolution urging the same. More than 50 cities and a few states celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday. The editorial board of the Vanderbilt Hustler said that “Vanderbilt’s silence on the matter is problematic.” “Yes, an indigenous professor was invited to talk about the indigenous genocide. But Vandy needs to go further,” the opinion piece said. The editorial board said it hopes that next year “Vanderbilt will stand against the actions of predatory settlers and stand with indigenous people.” In its opinion piece, the editorial board did not attempt an even-handed scholarly examination of Columbus and his work. Instead, it pandered to the progressive hysteria about Columbus, going so far as to say that if the Italian explorer, who sailed for Spain and made the Americas known to Europe, were alive today, “he would be a national villain, making Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer look…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Urges Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Ignores Columbus

Today is Columbus Day, but not for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. Barry issued a proclamation urging recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The proclamation is similar to the non-binding resolution passed by Metro Council last week. “Today we reflect upon the historic and ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples while celebrating their culture and value to our society,” she said in a tweet early Monday that included a copy of her proclamation, signed Oct. 1. Barry made no mention of Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day has become increasingly controversial in recent years, and today more than 50 cities and a few states have instead been celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The states are Minnesota, Vermont and Alaska. A progressive Democrat, Barry said in her proclamation that “Nashville has a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards Indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises.” The proclamation ends by saying, “The City encourages all individuals to observe this important day and reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples on this land, and to celebrate the thriving culture and value that Indigenous Peoples add to our City.” President Trump, by contrast, honored Columbus in his…

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Nashville Metro Council Encourages Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Columbus Day

Nashville’s Metro Council on Tuesday passed a resolution urging businesses, organizations and public entities to from now on recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday of October, most often recognized as Columbus Day. The non-binding resolution passed 26-5. It was sponsored by council members Brett Withers, Fabian Bedne, Nancy VanReece, Colby Sledge, Mina Johnson and Freddie O’Connell. Columbus Day recognizes the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492, but has been treated with increasing disregard and contempt nationwide by those who want to keep the focus on European mistreatment of Native Americans. Defenders of Columbus Day say critics downplay Columbus’ accomplishments and ignore the cruelty between Native American tribes, falsely painting mistreatment of other groups as a uniquely European trait. The Metro Council resolution says the council “opposes the systematic racism towards Indigenous Peoples of the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises.” The resolution notes that Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to a United Nations-sponsored conference. It also notes that the U.S. endorsed a U.N. declaration in 2010 recognizing that “indigenous peoples have suffered from…

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