The US is a country, like many others, that will not, and in many ways cannot, come to terms with its remarkably barbaric inception. The narrative of Columbus’s exploits and the later colonization of the territory is so extraordinarily savage that Americans, imperatively, create a preposterous story around this period. But the victims of white supremacist colonialism know all too well what Columbus represents. Revolutionaries, in solidarity with indigenous struggles, took action all across the country, in a total rejection of the colonial state.
Compilation of actions:
Connecticut: Three Columbus monuments in so-called Connecticut, home of the Pequot, Mohegan, Quinnipiac, Schaghticoke, Narragansett, and Paugussett, among many others, were simultaneously dowsed in red paint in a coordinated action against these symbols of colonialism and genocide. One was seen with its face smashed in. The words “Kill the Colonzier” were found on or close to all three.
So called “Columbus Day” is celebrated every year in the United States on October 12, and celebrated the weekend before. Amid parades, wreath laying ceremonies, and (somehow) new statues being unveiled, there is a huge movement to stop recognizing this genocidal colonizer and instead celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The resistance that indigenous and other marginalized peoples have been facing for centuries continues today. Neo-Nazi white supremacists continue to terrorize people in the street while those struggling for their very survival are labeled as “terrorists” by the same government that has enslaved and mass murdered them in order to build their empire of imperialism.
A white terrorist kills over 50 people, and mainstream media label him a “lone wolf” responsible for the “largest” massacre in U.S. history instead of the terrorist he is. This blatantly erases the genocide of millions of indigenous peoples that has been committed over the centuries.
The “president” blames the residents of Puerto Rico for the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria, spewing mysognistic attacks at the mayor and throwing paper towels into the crowd. Once again MSM ignores the U.S.’s colonial legacy and devastating neoliberal policies it has inflicted on the island struggling for liberation and independence.
Amidst all this and more, we join all peoples, and today more than any our Indigenous comrades, in the struggle against white supremacy, capitalist patriarchy, and the continuation of colonial powers. We call on others to do the same and and continue the struggle for abolition and total revolution.
Philly: As some prepare to celebrate Columbus Day, revolutionary anarchists and abolitionists reject all supremacist notions of colonialism. There is no place within radical working class movements for the triumphalism of a so-called “holiday” based on the domination, exploitation, and mass murder of indigenous people. Real solidarity means rejection of a genocidal legacy. Real unity means fighting together. Philly rejects colonialism. Power to indigenous people everywhere!
Chicago: As we all know, Columbus was a mass-murdering, genocidal pile of human waste who absolutely does not deserve to have a holiday named after him and with that in mind, decided to celebrate this day in a somewhat more appropriate way by improving one of the multiple statues of the bloodthirsty maniac that our city has the misfortune of hosting.
Since the particular monument we chose is the destination for the shameful spectacle that is our city’s Columbus day parade, we can only hope that cleanup crews can’t remove our improvements before the parade participants end up seeing them. We hope our message of rejecting this celebration of genocide, rape, and colonialist imperialism is heard loud and clear by as many people as possible.
We didn’t redecorate the statue because it was fun (although it definitely was) instead we carried out this small action to show our solidarity with indigenous people, whose decolonization struggles are too often ignored, even by other anarchists. As Americans we live every day on stolen land, in a violently imperialist country first invaded by Columbus, that to this day carries on the oppressive traditions he brought to this continent. If we don’t resist colonialism in every way available to us, we can’t truly consider ourselves to fight against oppression.
