To Transform Columbus

October 12, 1992. Events commemorating the 500-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' appearance in the Americas were interrupted that day by chants of protest. As replicas of Columbus' ships sailed through San Francisco Bay, angry crowds assembled on the shore to decry the cause for celebration. Organizers of the celebration called the "Quincentenary Jubilee Commission" were shocked by the protests: "How could we have gotten this one so wrong?"

What they did not realize then we are beginning to grasp now: Christopher Columbus and the Columbus legacy leaves nothing to celebrate. Columbus, we now read in our high school textbooks, started out as a Portuguese slave-trader and, after returning to Europe in shackles following his fourth voyage, disappeared into thin air. Based on the writings he left, we know that Columbus organized and participated in torture, murder, and rape of the indigenous population. A Dominican priest and contemporary of Columbus, Bartolome de Las Casas, recorded the slaughter and wrote in painful detail of the tortures he witnessed in his book A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Las Casas estimated that over 5 million indigenous people were exterminated within the first three years of Columbus' rule. As time rolled on the impact of the Columbus legacy gave way to the colonization, enslavement, and displacement of nearly every surviving indigenous person of the Americas.

So why do some still insist that Columbus Day remain a federal holiday? Why commemorate a history of brutality, of subjugation and slaughter? The answers to these questions are difficult and those who attempt to address this past are confronted with a tremendous amount of pain.

Questioning the Columbus legacy of violence domination challenges the status quo, a way of life, and "history as we've always known it" for many Americans. However, we need to grapple with our bloody past in order to boldly proclaim, "Enough!" Enough bloodshed. Enough pain. Enough lies about 1492 and the ocean blue. We need to begin speaking truthfully about our past and then ask forgiveness for the egregious acts committed against the indigenous of the Americas. Through such concrete and measurable efforts, another future is possible. We can transform Columbus Day from a moment of pain and anguish to an occasion of respect and harmony. This effort will draw upon all our courage and determination and, as Pope John Paul II said, it will require dialogue: "The indigenous people were the first owners of the land. There will be no solution until we recognize that the indigenous people were the first owners of the land ... The solution must be through dialogue."

If you are interested in engaging in this meaningful effort, some of the best resources available can be found at Transform Columbus Day .

Catholic Connections

This is my hope: The day will come when all people, lifting their eyes, will see the earth shining with brotherhood and sisterhood, mutual appreciation, true complimentarity...Men and women will dwell in their houses; men and women will drink the same wine, and dance together in the brightly lit square, celebrating the bonds uniting all humanity."
--Ivone Gebara, writer

Reflection Questions

In what ways does your Catholic Christian faith impel you to work for the transformation of the world?

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