Los Angeles has become the largest city nationwide to remove Columbus Day as an official city holiday, replacing it with a day to commemorate indigenous people.
The nearly unanimous decision Wednesday by the city council added Los Angeles to a growing list of U.S. cities to adopt similar measures, eliminating a holiday that many Native American activist groups and others see as offensive. The second Monday of October, a paid holiday for Los Angeles employees, will now be called “Indigenous Peoples Day.”
“The historical record is unambiguous in documenting the horrors Christopher Columbus and his men exacted on the native peoples he encountered,” Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, a member of the Wyandotte Nation, said in a statement before the 14-1 vote.
The move to rename the holiday faced fierce opposition from Italian Americans who see Christopher Columbus and his arrival in the Americas as an important part of their culture. Some opponents of the decision encouraged designating a day to honor indigenous and aboriginal peoples, while still observing Columbus Day.
But for Native American groups, removing the reference to Columbus altogether was a symbolic and historically necessary change. Chrissie Castro of the Los Angeles City-County Native American Indian Commission had urged the council to “dismantle a state-sponsored celebration of genocide of indigenous peoples,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Activists across the country have made calls to take down statues of Columbus, such as New York City’s famous Columbus Circle statue. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, faced backlash from the city’s large Italian American population for refusing to rule out removing the statue — he has ordered a 90-day review of “symbols of hate” on city property.
Meanwhile, a statue of Columbus in Yonkers, N.Y., was found beheaded this week.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the first Columbus Day as Oct. 12, 1937, after an intense campaign led by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization.
Full story at The Washington Post.
Hey Bob One and I am speaking to you directly. These toppling of statues is more proof that the Left wants White Europeans to feel guilty about existing. It may be interesting for you to know but the Italian Mafia here in NY has put a hit on any radical leftist who topples Columbus statues.
That’s a good disincentive to the anti-fascists!
Funny how the likes of Bob One and TEM have no problem with the toppling historical statues but are up in arms (NERF weapons) when it comes to “Catholic” statues. Men(?) of the margins, lacking gratitude.
Gravey, I have no idea what you are talking about. What is NERF? I suppose you are talking about toppling the statues of the traitors who rebelled against the union, and then were allowed to go home after the surrender “with malice toward none.” The fact that people celebrate the attempted dissolution of the Union tells me that we are still a racist country, or have a large population that is racist. What do you think?
Hi Bohemod, I wasn’t even going to look at this article, but the urge hit, and there you were talking to me. I like Columbus Day; parades, good Italian food, all the fun stuff. But, let’s be realistic about the history of the man. I remember walking on the same stone floor as he did when I visited the Alhambra to ask for money from the King and Queen. Inspiring! As a former history teacher, I remember that Columbus discovered America by accident, but never set foot in what we now call the United States. OK, maybe the Virgin Islands by I have no proof. He is a good Italian-American person to celebrate, like St. Joseph’s day. Berkeley has had “indigenous American Day for decades. What is too bad in a way, is that we are using new…
I for one will continue to celebrate October 12th as COLUMBUS DAY. I will not forget or re-write our history.
We are descending into barbarism
And what about the Knights of Columbus who do such important charitable work around the world? Are they next?
As a 4th degree Knight, I pray that it is not. That councilman can only produce evidence from Columbus’ successors. As an individual, his intension was not to harm Native Americans; but to bring them into the knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven. How it was done was the responsibility of others. He was a courageous and inspired man of history.
They will be asked to consider renaming as “servants to all indigenous”_
The Knights of Indiginous people’s has a funny ring to it. Another time the council buckles under to union pressure. And we voted them in so they would do our bidding? I think not.
Will California declare it to be a hate crime to say that Columbus founded America??
You never know. The direction this nation is going seems to be truly Orwellian.
These lazy slob politicians were voting on this in a place that would only be there because of Christopher Columbus and White Men. They love the conveniences (as all immoral lazy folk do) that White men brought to this country. You won’t find one of these phony frauds living in a teepee without a hot shower(another white man invention) this year even in generally mild Los Angeles.
So, “Mitch O’Farrell” (sounds to me like he’s a member of County Cork tribe) claims to be of the Wyandotte Nation (perhaps with the same grandmother as Elizabeth Warren) is a supposedly qualified authority on removing statues [of white Europeans]. After all it was a genocide, correct?
Well, O’Farrell, we need you to abase yourself and apologize for the history of genocide by your nation against other tribes, because the fact is that most, if not all, Native American tribes persistently warred and prominently executed the male members of opposing tribes—your forebears practiced genocide, correct?
Don’t mention the word “scalping”: it was a practice certainly introduced by Columbus.
Euroamericsns will be assigned reparations taxes for stsrters
“It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from there to the Indies. (He never made it to the Indies, but to San Salvadore.) ……..There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures … encouraging me to continually to press forward and without ceasing for a moment they now encourage me make haste……Oh what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night moment by moment, everyone should express to Him their most devoted gratitude.” Diary of Christopher Columbus
If Columbus can longer be honored in Los Angeles on the second Monday of October, the holiday and its celebration ought to be cancelled. That means no holiday, no day off and no holiday pay for Los Angeles city workers. The entire City Council should be fired for malfeasence and incompetence.
Well, my class and I will celebrate Columbus Day. So there.
I thought we already had a day when we remember native Americans. It’s called “Thanksgiving.”