Students at Stanford University, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, are attempting to scrub names and symbols that honor people who are historically connected to slavery and colonialism from the college campus. The move echoes a series of colleges across the nation whose students have attempted to do the same.
In his proclamation for Columbus Day, President Obama said Friday that European explorers to the New World ushered in “previously unseen disease, devastation, and violence” to the lives of Native Americans.
It’s that time of the year– a time to celebrate the indelible mark left by the Spanish empire on our cultural identities and the inextricable link between Spain, America, and Christianity: Columbus Day.
In his historic speech to the joint session of the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis addressed the topic of immigration for the third time since arriving on American soil, urging Americans not to “repeat the sins and the errors of the past” by treating immigrants as North America’s earlier settlers treated the American Indians.
The canonization of Fray Junipero Serra should have been a rallying cry for the Left. Pope Francis has given America its first saint–a man who dedicated his life to bringing Christianity to the native peoples of California. Many Native Americans see Serra as a conquerer who used violence to impose a religion. They have, selectively, spoken up, but the silence on the part of mainstream left media and white liberals is deafening.
“Long before the United States was even an idea, your ancestors were harvesting the crops that would feed the world for centuries to come,” Michelle Obama tells Native Americans. “Today on issues like conservation and climate change we are finally beginning to embrace the wisdom of your ancestors,” she said. “So make no mistake about it, your customs, your values, your discoveries, are at the heart of the American story.”
On Wednesday, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee dealt the Washington Redskins another blow in the team’s battle to retain its nickname, canceling the team’s federal trademark registration.
On Wednesday, a Vatican panel approved the scheduled canonization of Father Junipero Serra when Pope Francis visits Washington D.C. in September. Widely disparate reactions followed the announcement, with some Californians thrilled and others bitter about conferring sainthood on the 18th century churchman largely responsible for the mission system in California.
Days after a dozen Native American actors walked off the set of Adam Sandler’s upcoming Netflix-only comedy western, The Ridiculous Six, video has emerged of the actors expressing concerns the script is disrespectful and offensive to the film’s producers.
California lawmakers are proposing a law that will ban the use of “Redskins” as a school team name or mascot in public schools
The question of whether to canonize or not to canonize Father Junipero Serra has raged now that Pope Francis has decided to nominate Serra for sainthood. The dichotomy among Californians triggered by Serra’s nomination springs from significantly different viewpoints.