Thursday, October 12, 2017

Letter: Columbus Day is Racist

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog.

Dear Editor,

The hurtful and racist 2017 celebration of Columbus Day in New Jersey, which marked the beginning of the genocide of Native Americans, must be the last Columbus Day celebrated in, "Lenapehoking", the land of the Lenape people. The holiday should be replaced with a celebration of Lenape culture as part of Indigenous People's Day.

The colonial legacy in New Jersey experienced by the Lenape people is one of near total genocide, theft, and exile to far away reservations, mostly in Oklahoma.

People in New Jersey of all races must demand the state ends Lenape apartheid by providing funding for the Lenape people to return home, and recognizes the right of the Lenape to culture, self-determination, and sovereignty.

Rev. Dr. Eric Hafner
Toms River

No comments: