Columbus Day, for many years, has been celebrated as a remembrance day for the man who sailed to the Americas in 1492. The first celebrated Columbus Day in the United States took place in 1792, Tammany Hall in New York. In 1937 former President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that it will be an official holiday on October 12, but was finally moved to the second Monday in October as of 1971.

Although many places may celebrate this holiday and federal offices and banks are closed and even some schools, Columbus should not be remembered as a man who discovered the Americas. Christopher Columbus decimated the native population within 20 years from an estimated 1 million to just 12,000. He mutilated and enslaved many of the people and it’s said that the Natives even committed suicide to avoid being enslaved by his men. Throughout their travels to several islands and countries, he and his men raped and killed many. Not only was Columbus terrible to the natives of the Americas, he treated his own people unrightfully by beating and mutilating, all in a pubic setting. He shackled and whipped at least a dozen people for purchasing meat and bread while they were starving, just because they did not receive approval for it. More so, he had a women’s tongue cut out for speaking out against the admiral and his brothers.

With all this in mind, Columbus Day should no longer be recognized as a national holiday and should be seen as a day to remember all the people he hurt, killed and put in danger. Instead, the second Monday in October should be dedicated to the Natives of the Caribbean and Americas for being enslaved just because someone thought they had the right.