I, BARACK OBAMA, proclaim October 11 Columbus Day

Over five centuries ago, Christopher Columbus set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a new trade route to India.

The findings of this explorer from Genoa, Italy, would change the map of the world and forever alter the course of human history.

When Columbus's crewmembers came ashore in the Americas, they arrived in a world previously unknown to his contemporaries in Europe.

His expeditions foreshadowed the journey across the seas for millions of courageous immigrants who followed.

As they settled, they joined indigenous communities with thriving cultures.

Today, we reflect on the myriad contributions tribal communities have made to our Nation and the world, and we remember the tremendous suffering they endured as this land changed.

For more than 500 years, women and men from every corner of the globe have embarked on journeys to our shores as did Columbus.

Some have sought refuge from religious or political oppression, and others have departed nations ravaged by war, famine, or economic despair.

It is this intrepid character and spirit of possibility that has come to define America, and is the reason countless families still journey to our shores.

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus' historic voyage 518 years ago, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as "Columbus Day."

I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

I also direct that the Flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of Christopher Columbus.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA
 
Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in 1937.

However, people have celebrated Columbus' voyage since the colonial period.

In 1792, New York City and other U.S. cities celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event.

During the four hundredth anniversary, in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used Columbus Day rituals to teach ideals of patriotism.

These patriotic rituals were framed around themes such as support for war, citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and celebrating social progress.

Catholic immigration in the mid-19th century induced discrimination from anti-immigrant activists such as the Ku Klux Klan.

Like many other struggling immigrant communities, Catholics developed organizations to fight discrimination and provide insurance for the struggling immigrants.

One such organization, the Knights of Columbus, chose that name in part because it saw Christopher Columbus as a fitting symbol of Catholic immigrants' right to citizenship: one of their own, a fellow Catholic, had discovered America.

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So now we know why the racists oppose Columbus Day, even if they only say so when a Democrat is in office.
 
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