Columbus nothing to celebrate
Samuel Eliot Morrison, author of “Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus” wrote about how Columbus sold the inhabitants of Hispaniola as slaves even though he declared them “the kindest, most peaceful and generous people in the world.”
After 224 years of telling bold-faced lies about Columbus, it is past time for the United States to stop celebrating and honoring his “accomplishments” and “discovery” on Columbus Day. We have witnessed the removal of some Confederate statues, however Columbus is still revered.
How can we consciously respect someone who conspired to commit an act of genocide against people who lived in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic, helped to start the transatlantic sex and slave trade (circa 1493) and enslaved humans to mine for gold?
What will it take for the U.S. to wake up and start to reevaluate the people and events that we celebrate and honor?
Obiora Embry
Lexington
This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Columbus nothing to celebrate."