Everyone loves a long weekend, right? It’s not only the fact that we have three days off of school and work (if you’re lucky at least); it’s the fact that the following four-day week goes by incredibly fast. Colleges and universities around the United States were celebrating Columbus Day this past Monday and rejoiced in the long weekend because of it. In fact, Plymouth State even held their annual Pirate Darty during Columbus Day weekend. Although I am not against long weekends to any degree, I am against Columbus Day.
In grade school, we are taught that in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean and he miraculously discovered the New World. His so-called “discovery” of the New World has lead generations and generations of Americans to depict him as a hero. We are taught to admire and appreciate Columbus when we are young. In fact, we celebrate him and his discovery every October.
In grade school, we are not taught that Christopher Columbus exploited those whose land he “discovered”. Unlike what we are taught in grade school, Columbus did not discover America. The Natives were already inhabiting that land. However, Columbus was backed up by the king and queen who had capital and resources that were greater than what the natives had. In planning for colonizing the New World, he wrote in a letter to the king and queen that, “These things could be paid for in slaves taken among these cannibals”. Columbus believed he was superior to the Natives based on the color of his skin.
In grade school, we are not taught that Christopher Columbus was inherently racist. We are not taught that in 1494, he launched the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He sent roughly 24 enslaved Tainos – children, women, and men – to Spain so the “Highnesses can order placed in charge of persons from who they may be able better to learn the language”. He viewed the Natives as lesser than him.
Columbus is not a hero. Columbus was a murderer. Columbus was a terrorist. Columbus was a pirate. Columbus adds to the narrative of white men who believes their skin color and culture are superior to anyone else’s skin color and culture.
This is not something to be celebrated. This is not a day to dress up like pirates for and have a drinking celebration for (yes, you Plymouth State). By celebrating this holiday, we are celebrating everything Columbus was and stood for. By celebrating this holiday, we are supporting the narrative and perpetuating racism.