CV NEWS FEED // On Monday, past comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris about Columbus Day recirculated the internet. Vice President Harris slammed the traditional annual honoring of Columbus for not telling the “whole story” and referred to America’s history as “shameful” in a 2021 statement. She also referred to the holiday by the controversial name “Indigenous People’s Day.”
The comments were made during the National Congress of American Indians’ 78th Annual Convention, the day after President Joe Biden recognized Indigenous People’s Day.
“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations – perpetrating violence, stealing land, and spreading disease,” Harris said in her remarks. “We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on Native communities today.”
Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. It was first celebrated on October 12, 1792, by the Society of St. Tammany in New York to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas.
The federal government’s involvement in the holiday dates back to 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the day a federal holiday at the behest of the Catholic organization the Knights of Columbus of New York and the Italian American community.
The holiday is important for Italian-American, Catholic, and Latin-American communities alike as it celebrates the heritage, history, and achievements of immigrants during Italian-American Heritage Month.
As Harris’ past comments on the federal holiday circulated on X (formerly Twitter) Monday, Italian-Americans and Catholics flocked to social media to write about the holiday.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco chimed in on the importance of the holiday. “Christopher Columbus was the first Catholic to be honored with a national holiday,” his excellency wrote. “Happy Columbus Day, my Italian brothers and sisters.”
Other users posted about controversial efforts to rename or erase the holiday, and about Harris’ comments from 2021.
“Changing the name of a day doesn’t change history. It doesn’t help people learn from it either. It only dooms people to make mistakes and forget how they succeeded,” wrote one user.
“Columbus brought Christianity to the Americas and provided an escape from religious and political persecution in Europe,” stated another. “If not for Columbus and the other explorers we would not have this great country founded on Free speech and freedom of religion!”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York also celebrated the holiday with a Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Archbishop stated: “On St. Patrick’s Day, we say that we are all Irish. On Columbus Day, we are all Italian, don’t you forget.”
