A statue of Christopher Columbus has been placed on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, the latest effort by Donald Trump’s administration to recognize the controversial explorer.
The statue is a replica of one that was tossed into Baltimore’s harbor in 2020 during Trump’s first term at a time of nationwide protests against institutional racism.
Trump endorses a traditional view of Columbus as a leader of the 1492 mission seen as the unofficial beginning of European colonization in the Americas and the development of the modern economic and political order. But in recent years, Columbus also has been recognized as a primary example of Western Europe’s conquest of the New World, its resources and its native people.
In recent years? People at the time were horrified at what Columbus was doing.
American history classes must be a wild ride.
Oh yeah. When I was in school, Columbus was portrayed as a literal hero. It wasn’t so long ago that we were still celebrating Columbus Day.
Wasn’t the Spannish Crown planning to execute him before he died? Like nobody liked Columbus and the only reason he was ever held up is because the Italians were a non-factor during the first colonial period.