Winston Churchill is believed to have said, “History is written by the winners.” Apparently, what is written in history is now fair game for
revision.
The latest episode of this came yesterday when the Reverend
John I. Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, said
in an
online letter to the campus community
that the school will cover up a
series of murals painted more than 100 years ago by Luigi Gregori onto the
walls of the Main Building that depicted the discovery of the Americas by
Christopher Columbus in 1492. Meant to show the challenges to UND’s immigrant
population, the murals have become a target of Native American activists who
see them as “demeaning” and a symbol of the persecution of indigenous
peoples in the over 500 years since Columbus’ arrival.
This comes after a number of communities in the US have
stricken the term “Columbus Day” from the holiday on the second Monday of
November and have now called it “
Indigenous
Peoples Day
.”
In response to Notre Dame’s action, the
Italian American One Voice Coalition
has voiced its objection. In a statement this morning,
Executive Board Member Andre DiMino, the official spokesman for his group, said, “This is
another example of revisionist history and a slap in the face of all Italian
Americans … we very much respect the contributions of our Native American
friends, but I find it amazing that we are now judging a 15
th
Century man by 21
st
Century standards. I implore the president of
Notre Dame to reconsider his decision and not give into the hysteria of the
moment. All Italian Americans celebrate Columbus’ achievement of uniting the
continents.”
Rev. Jenkins added in his letter, “We will, therefore, create a permanent display for high-quality,
high-resolution images of the murals in a campus setting to be determined that
will be conducive to such an informed and careful consideration.”
Don’t be
surprised that such a display will be hard to find on campus, if such a display
will ever be established at all. In addition, don’t be surprised if this
response from the Italian American One Voice Coalition gets little play in the
mainstream media, if it gets any play at all.
One wonders
what those who wish to revise history would feel if some future generation
decides to revise what
they
are doing
now.
The only
history that can’t be revised is His Story.
Thanks!
