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Rethink Columbus Day

For 81 years, Americans observed Columbus Day.  Then Eric Kasum, founder of the Imagine Institute, wrote an article about the true life of Christopher Columbus.  It was featured on Page One of The Huffington Post.  It got over 85,000 Facebook "likes" in just 24 hours.  His article exploded onto the nation's consciousness because it exposed the bloody truth about this once-admired hero, who was a real-life monster.

People were outraged, once they discovered the truth about Christopher Columbus.  Shocked and saddened, they could no longer observe a holiday in his honor.  Teachers refused to teach the history of Columbus to their students the same way ever again.  Readers of the article posted comments like:  We don't have an Adolf Hitler Day, do we?  So why would we celebrate Christopher Columbus?

Since Eric wrote his article blog for The Huffington Post, it has been "aggregated" (duplicated) by more than 600 websites in more than 120 countries.  More than a dozen major US cities including Seattle, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Berkeley, California have voted to no longer celebrate Columbus Day, sparking a firestorm of controversy.  Some cities have replaced Columbus Day with a holiday to honor Native Americans.  What do you think we should do?

Is Change Possible?

Two students in Brooklyn, New York contacted Eric and asked if he would support them in starting a campaign in their school to end the observance of Columbus Day.  He quickly said "Yes!"  They made it into a class project and the subject of a thesis.  Next they posted a petition at Change.org which many people signed.  Their petition was followed by a tidal wave of petitions, some with as many as 4,981 signatures.

In support of one petition, Morgan Pixler of Las Vegas said:  "Christopher Columbus was a terrorist, and should not be celebrated as a national holiday.  Voting should be a national holiday so people have the time to actually go vote.  Give the voice back to the people."

Sherry Wilber of Mentor, Ohio said:  "Columbus was a monster and does not deserve to be celebrated.  Get rid of his holiday and make Election Day a Federal Holiday!"

The true story of Columbus may forever change the way you see this historic figure.  That's why we're featuring Eric's article on our website.  To read it, simply   Click Here.  (www.imagineinstitute.org/columbus.html)

Let's start a movement!

Let's replace this holiday that honors a mass-murderer with a holiday to some person or idea we admire.  In his article, Eric suggested several alternatives for Columbus Day: Heroes of Peace Day or a national holiday to honor young people who are changing the world by their acts of kindness and service to others.  We have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, why not a holiday to honor young people?

If you Google the words: "Change.org petition columbus day" there are now more than 100,000 listings !

Here are a few wonderful Petitions.  Please sign any and all of the petitions you agree with, or create your own petition and ask your friends to sign it!

 

https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-u-s-house-of-representatives-u-s-senate-remove-columbus-day-and-make-election-day-a-national-holiday-instead?just_created=true

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-and-u-s-senate-and-president-of-the-united-states-rename-columbus-day-to-honor-native-americans

https://www.change.org/p/the-ohio-state-university-denounce-columbus-day-and-recognize-indigenous-peoples-day

https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-and-a-sitting-congress-remove-columbus-day-as-a-national-holiday

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-petition-to-remove-columbus-day?recruiter=190797976&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg

https://www.change.org/p/united-states-governors-president-obama-ban-columbus-day-as-a-holiday-and-cease-all-recognition

https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-abolish-columbus-day-347018ff-0b26-44d7-81f1-e8049b4ea66c?recruiter=345150440&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive

https://www.change.org/p/city-of-el-paso-texas-recognize-indigenous-peoples-day-denounce-columbus-day

https://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-us-congress-change-columbus-day-to-indigenous-peoples-remembrance-day

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-house-of-representatives-remove-christopher-columbus-day-as-a-federal-holiday

https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-change-columbus-day-to-discovery-day

https://www.change.org/p/united-states-congress-rededicate-columbus-day-as-exploration-day