Step Off! Magazine

Every year I recommend this book & will continue to do so until this abomination of a ‘holiday’ is abolished & Columbus is truly represented as the lying, thieving, rapist, slaver & murder he really was. ‘Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus: What Your History Books Got Wrong’ by James W. Loewen. Until recently history was all about great men & great events but in this country’s zeal to present iconic figures like Washington, Jefferson etc. as persons to emulate historians have often gone too far portraying them as infallible gods, & great events such as Columbus’ “discovery” of America were always told in the most heroic fashion. This book completely destroys that notion & yanks the veils of U.S. mythology many like to drape over less than honorable historical figures & presents an honest look at what Columbus really was, a thieving, murderous, kidnapping slave trader & land stealer. This book details long neglected area of history & overturns the various heroic, myth ridden portrayals of Columbus & shows the true vile opportunists, self-serving nature & ulterior motives this figure held. Well written, researched & argued this book does a thorough job of presenting Columbus’ less than heroic motives accurately with the cold hard facts to back it up effectively dismantling the facade of this fraudulent legacy. A must read for all who want to know the true history of Columbus, not the mickey mouse history we teach to our children. We shouldn’t put people like this on a pedestal, we need to rip people like this off the pedestal. In my house we celebrate Indigenous People today & every day. We remember the painful history, struggle, resilience, resistance & our greatness.

Photo Courtesy: The New Press