Columbus Day Renamed After Black Mayor
“The city of Gary has replaced Columbus Day with a holiday honoring its late Mayor Richard Hatcher, who became one of the first Black mayors of a big U.S. city when he was elected in 1967.
The Gary Common Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday in favor a resolution making Richard Gordon Hatcher Day the second Monday of October for city employees,” The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.
For African Americans, Columbus Day carries connotations of slavery. It is one of those WTF moments when you learn that Columbus was a slave trader, and there is a day to honor him. How insulting? Professor Glenn Morris brings that point out in his excerpt below:
“Political science Professor Glenn Morris, director of the 4th World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics, explains why Indigenous and Black people oppose Columbus Day: “First, it is a holiday that celebrates Columbus, who was an African slave trader and who then also began the genocide against indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. He deserves no holidays, statues, or celebrations.”
Read more about Gary, Indiana’s Late Mayor Richard Hatcher by clicking the link below.
