What Has Happened to Columbus Day?
2020-10-12
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1This Monday is Columbus Day in the United States.
2The celebration of the holiday, observed on the second Monday of October, is now somewhat different from ones in the past.
3The U.S. government established Columbus Day as a national holiday in 1934 to honor the explorer Christopher Columbus.
4The day recognizes Columbus's arrival in the Americas in October 1492.
5Over more than 100 years, statues and memorials to Columbus have been put up in American cities as a popular historical person.
6But this year, many statues of Columbus have been attacked or are being removed.
7In May, the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota incited nationwide protests against police use of force and racial injustice.
8Protestors directed their anger at statues and monuments honoring Confederate officials from the American Civil War.
9They associated them with racial injustice, racism and slavery.
10The anger led to attacks on memorials to Columbus around the country. Statues of the explorer were taken down in Boston, Chicago and many cities.
11The city of Columbus, Ohio, also reportedly removed his statue and "placed it in safekeeping."
12The explorer, who is believed to have been born in Genoa in modern-day Italy, arrived in the Americas more than 525 years ago.
13He claimed most of the territory for the kingdom of Spain, which supported his expeditions.
14The first reported celebrations of Christopher Columbus's arrival in America took place in the United States in 1792.
15The celebration was meant to mark the 300th anniversary of Columbus' arrival.
16Later, Italian-Americans began celebrating the explorer as part of their cultural history.
17The Catholic charitable group The Knights of Columbus has long defended the legacy of Columbus.
18The group was founded by Irish-Catholic immigrants to the U.S.
19After years of growing support, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a national holiday in 1934.
20Since 1971, Columbus Day has been observed on the second Monday of October.
21Critics say that Columbus did not "discover" America since native people already lived there.
22His explorations helped open the way for a huge migration of Europeans to what they called The New World.
23This, they say, brought war, disease and death to many native peoples.
24For years, Native American groups have opposed honoring Columbus.
25And some U.S. cities and states have moved away from honoring Columbus and instead observing a day for Native American people.
26Wisconsin was among the states to declare the second Monday in October Indigenous People's Day.
27The state has recognized 11 Indian tribes within its borders.
28The District of Columbia declared its October holiday Indigenous People's Day for the year 2019.
29But it returns to Columbus Day this year.
30In Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law last year meant to satisfy both sides in the historical argument.
31The state recognizes both Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day at the same time.
32In 2020, many observances of Columbus Day are being cancelled because of restrictions meant to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
33Columbus Day remains a holiday for the federal government in all U.S. states and territories.
34I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1This Monday is Columbus Day in the United States. The celebration of the holiday, observed on the second Monday of October, is now somewhat different from ones in the past. 2The U.S. government established Columbus Day as a national holiday in 1934 to honor the explorer Christopher Columbus. The day recognizes Columbus's arrival in the Americas in October 1492. 3Over more than 100 years, statues and memorials to Columbus have been put up in American cities as a popular historical person. But this year, many statues of Columbus have been attacked or are being removed. 4In May, the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota incited nationwide protests against police use of force and racial injustice. Protestors directed their anger at statues and monuments honoring Confederate officials from the American Civil War. They associated them with racial injustice, racism and slavery. 5The anger led to attacks on memorials to Columbus around the country. Statues of the explorer were taken down in Boston, Chicago and many cities. The city of Columbus, Ohio, also reportedly removed his statue and "placed it in safekeeping." 6A history of Columbus Day 7The explorer, who is believed to have been born in Genoa in modern-day Italy, arrived in the Americas more than 525 years ago. He claimed most of the territory for the kingdom of Spain, which supported his expeditions. 8The first reported celebrations of Christopher Columbus's arrival in America took place in the United States in 1792. The celebration was meant to mark the 300th anniversary of Columbus' arrival. 9Later, Italian-Americans began celebrating the explorer as part of their cultural history. The Catholic charitable group The Knights of Columbus has long defended the legacy of Columbus. The group was founded by Irish-Catholic immigrants to the U.S. 10After years of growing support, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a national holiday in 1934. Since 1971, Columbus Day has been observed on the second Monday of October. 11Observances on hold 12Critics say that Columbus did not "discover" America since native people already lived there. His explorations helped open the way for a huge migration of Europeans to what they called The New World. This, they say, brought war, disease and death to many native peoples. 13For years, Native American groups have opposed honoring Columbus. And some U.S. cities and states have moved away from honoring Columbus and instead observing a day for Native American people. 14Wisconsin was among the states to declare the second Monday in October Indigenous People's Day. The state has recognized 11 Indian tribes within its borders. The District of Columbia declared its October holiday Indigenous People's Day for the year 2019. But it returns to Columbus Day this year. 15In Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law last year meant to satisfy both sides in the historical argument. The state recognizes both Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day at the same time. 16In 2020, many observances of Columbus Day are being cancelled because of restrictions meant to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. 17Columbus Day remains a holiday for the federal government in all U.S. states and territories. 18I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 19Mario Ritter Jr. wrote this for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22knock -v. to his something in a forceful way 23charitable -adj. done to help people who are poor, sick or in need 24legacy -n. something that happened in the past or is received from someone in the past 25We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.