‘Woke’ Descendant of Columbus has Message for Fellow Americans
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Photo by Kevin Olson on Unsplash
By DERON SNYDER (as published on Medium)
A “woke” descendant of Christopher Columbus visited last night and asked me to pass this along:
Dear fellow Americans:
Some of you have mixed feelings about honoring my two-dozen-times-removed-great-grandfather, Christopher Columbus.
I understand.
Since the 18th century, when a number of cities and states began unofficial celebrations, our country has commemorated his 1492 landing in the Americas. “Columbus Day” became a federal holiday nearly 450 years later, and many people still consider it a dual celebration of his achievements and Italian-American heritage.
But to be clear, I’m not one of them.
Despite being a direct descendant, I feel no need to boast about my forebearer’s role in history. My thoughts on Columbus are aligned with NBA coach Greg Popovich’s recent comments before a San Antonio Spurs a preseason game.
“He initiated a New World genocide,” Popovich told reporters. “Beginning with him, he set in motion what followed: the annihilation of every indigenous person in Hispaniola, which is Haiti and the Dominican Republic today. He took slaves. He mutilated. He murdered.”
Those aren’t pleasant facts for Columbuses to swallow. But they’re facts, indeed, and we must live with those truths.
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