Christopher Columbus Deserves A National Holiday

In 2020, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, leftists went on a rampage nationwide. One of their favorite targets was Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who bravely crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and united the Old and New Worlds. Mobs associated with Black Lives Matter, a radical group tied to communism, vandalized, destroyed, or removed at least 33 Christopher Columbus statues in American cities.

In the view of the woke left, Columbus “sparked centuries of colonization, genocide, slavery, and racial oppression, the effects of which can still be measured in modern institutions.”

Fortunately, President Donald Trump and most Americans see Columbus as a heroic figure who deserves honor. Last Friday, President Trump hosted a “Columbus Day Celebration” at the White House in advance of the federal holiday on October 12.

The Trump administration issued a proclamation to “honor his life of valor, adventure, and ingenuity,” and made a “pledge to safeguard his story” and “never allow his legacy to be erased by radical extremists.”

The President pledged that the “days of plunder are over” and that statues are “back more magnificent than ever.”

Today, 30 states recognize Columbus Day, while “Other states have either replaced it with Indigenous Peoples Day, recognize both occasions, or don’t make either a state holiday (or) treat it as a normal day.”

In President Trump’s view, Christopher Columbus deserves his own holiday because he was a “legend,” whose “vision, fortitude, and perseverance” set in motion a series of events that culminated in the formation of the United States of America.

Although Columbus believed he was traveling to the Orient, he realized he was embarking on a historic voyage. In his letter to the King and Queen of Spain in 1492, Columbus wrote: “ordained that I should not go by land, the usual way, to the Orient, but by the route of the Occident, by which no one to this day knows for sure that anyone has gone.”

During this expedition, his crew became “tired and scared” for it was “the longest voyage out of the sight of land to that date.” Columbus admonished them that it was “useless to complain.” He pledged that the voyage would continue because “He had come to the Indies, and so had to continue until he found them, with the help of Our Lord.”

Columbus Day is also important to the Italian American community nationwide. It was first celebrated as a national holiday in 1937, though its roots go back further. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison “issued Proclamation 335, declaring October 21, 1892, the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage, a general holiday.” Harrison described Columbus as “the pioneer of progress and enlightenment.”

Columbus Day parades are held nationwide, including in Manhattan, the “world’s largest celebration of Italian American culture and heritage.” Unfortunately, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani boycotted all the city’s Columbus Day parades, including ones in Queens and Brooklyn.

Earlier this year, Mamdani decided not to include “Little Italy” in a “map of immigrant enclaves” throughout New York City. The area was excluded despite its popularity and notoriety as a “nationally recognized historic district.”

Another city that has foolishly abandoned recognition of Christopher Columbus is Columbus, Ohio, named after him. In 1955, the people of Genoa, Italy, gave the city a statue of Columbus. It stood for 65 years until the woke mob convinced Mayor Andrew Ginther to remove it.

President Trump urged the city to restore the statue. He demanded that “Christopher Columbus be put back into the heart of Columbus, Ohio.” Mayor Ginther responded that the President should stop trying to “divide our country” and claimed that no action could be taken while “the statue is the subject of pending litigation.” He vowed to say nothing while “the matter…is before the court.”

One group legally challenging Mayor Ginther and city officials is the Friends of Christopher Columbus Foundation. They filed a lawsuit in “U.S. District Court in Columbus, calling the removal of the statue illegal and discriminatory.”

The lawsuit calls for the statue to be returned to its former place of honor, at the Columbus City Hall. Currently, Columbus’ far-left administration has the statue “sitting in an unknown storage location.”

This historical revisionism must end; it is un-American. Columbus was a historical figure worthy of recognition. According to Bradley Birzer, a history professor at Hillsdale College, Columbus’ 1492 voyage across the Atlantic was “one of the most important moments in world history.” 

In his first crossing, Columbus reached what is now the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola. In three subsequent expeditions, Columbus explored what is now Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, the South American mainland, and the eastern coast of Central America.

Columbus set the stage for other explorers to develop Latin America and eventually the United States of America. As Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, noted, “We’re not here if Columbus didn’t do what he did.”

Thus, statues and parades nationwide, along with a holiday in his honor, are more than justified to recognize Christopher Columbus’ incredible legacy.