Last week, it was announced that at least eight cities stopped celebrating Columbus Day and instead opted for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Columbus Day, much like Día de la Raza in Latin America, celebrates the colonizers who displaced indigenous peoples. While people continue contemplating whether or not Columbus Day should be a holiday through hashtags like #NadaQueCelebrar and #ColumbusDay, allow us to present these two strong cases for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
First, there’s last year’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episode, which asks how it’s possible that Columbus Day is still a thing. The video explains that Columbus started the “long tradition of obnoxious white people visiting Caribbean islands and acting like they own the place.” The video is full of ? moments. Even a year later, it’s worth revisiting.
For those who argue that Columbus Day is a day for Italians to celebrate their heritage, the Last Week Tonight team has a solution.
Then, there’s also Ilana Glazer’s and Abbi Jacobson’s Broad City characters who reached the conclusion that the only Christopher Columbus they could celebrate is the one behind the first Home Alone. I won’t spoil anymore, because this is Ilana at her best.
And, whether he knows it or not, Jay Z has also helped spark anti-Columbus sentiments with “Oceans,” where he rapped,“I’m anti-Santa Maria/Only Christopher we acknowledge is Wallace.”
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