Every October, there is renewed discussion about Columbus Day celebrations․ Each year, more organizations quietly drop Columbus Day commemorations․ This is wrong, especially at Notre Dame․ Begin with the history of the holiday․ Columbus Day was not intended to honor conquest․ As noted by Britannica, protests over the lynching of 11 Italian immigrants in New Orleans in 1891 fueled calls for a national holiday․
Strong anti-Italian sentiment existed at the time․ In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation designating a national holiday to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage, in part to improve U․S․-Italy relations and patch ties with Italian immigrants․ Efforts to make Columbus Day a permanent federal holiday in the 1930s were led by the Knights of Columbus․
