Columbus: A multicultural approach

A unifying solution to the attack on Christopher Columbus as we re-examine history as a diverse community is to include Columbus statues and multicultural statues in shared spaces to show that our heritages, together for better or worse, form one America. That space should be designated for all members of the community. Remember, Taino Chief Guacanagari and Columbus were allies. We can be, too.

Rafel Ortiz, author of “Christopher Columbus The Hero,” is of Taino (Puerto Rican) descent and defends Columbus and Italian Americans. Ortiz counters every point against Columbus with context and citations: “I hope the media retract their false biographies and accusations on Columbus and correct their mistakes. I hope people will stop sharing false information in social media, without first double-checking the facts.”

My hope is that multicultural community members support Columbus’ legacy and symbolism in the ItalianAmerican community, because of course we do not honor but condemn the atrocities that were committed afterward, while Columbus was sailing in search of the Grand Khan of Asia, or the sins committed by his political adversaries. At Sunday Mass, July 5, 2020, at University of Notre Dame, Father Joseph said that when people draw a line to defend, “Remember that God is on both sides of the line.” An artificial line has been drawn in the sand, which is detrimental to understanding true history.

Here are five facts: (1) Columbus never owned any slaves or brought any to the Western Hemisphere from Africa. He did send 500 Native Americans to Queen Isabella as prisoners of war, which was an accepted practice at the time. (2) Taino Chief Guacanagari helped Columbus and stayed allies. ( 3) Brutality and genocide occurred in America but not under Columbus’ direct watch. At that moment in history all of what Columbus is accused of was practiced by peoples throughout the world including Europeans, Native Americans and Africans. (4) Columbus viewed Taino people as equals, evidenced by his desire to convert them to Christianity. Additionally, Columbus was sent back to Spain by his political adversaries for defending Native Americans. (5) Columbus’ goals were not to conquer territories, but to convert Eastern people to Christianity, find the Grand Khan of Asia to develop trade routes, and to find gold to make the voyages profitable to finance and form a new alliance with the East to retake Jerusalem. It was a business and religious venture.

My goal after much and continued research is to defend Italian Americans and Columbus, but not at the expense of the multicultural community. Support Columbus Day, Columbus statues in public space, and Italian-American culture. Columbus legitimized Italian immigrants as Americans during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including not being considered enemy aliens after World War II. The KKK hated Italians for their dark skin and Catholicism, as a result many Columbus statues were erected across the country in response to bigotry as a symbol of inclusion for all immigrants. Eleven Italians were lynched in New Orleans on March 14, 1891, the worst lynching in

American history. As recently as 1992, Gov. Mario Cuomo did not run for the presidency because the United States was not ready to elect an Italian American. The history of discrimination against Italian immigrants is real. Still, we are trying to overcome negative stereotypes today.

Like Sacco and Vanzetti in 1921, Columbus is being convicted of crimes he didn’t commit in life and 525 years later. In addition to Rafael Ortiz, researchers, historians, and anthropologists of the present and past support my claims, including: Carol Delaney, Mary Graber, and Samuel Eliot Morison. Delanay Ph.D., Harvard Divinity School, the University of Chicago, and Boston University, wrote, “Columbus never killed any natives and continually admonished his men not to maraud, rape or plunder.” As an Italian American, I condemn Capt. Martin Alonso Pinzon, Francisco Roldan and Francisco de Bobadilla for their sins and atrocities. However, as I learn more I am cautious to be guilty of presentism, viewing history through today’s lens and not in the context of the past. Lastly, Christopher Columbus was exonerated by the Spanish sovereigns, and in his own words, “God is just and he will see that the truth is known.”

Condemning Spaniards for their sins and not the Caribs is biased. Erasing Italian-American history is an act of cultural supremacy. Attacking Columbus, a symbol of accepting all immigrants, is ignorant despite good intentions.