Holding America Accountable:Columbus and Breonna Taylor
By Maxine Park ’22
In recent years, radical activists have sought… to replace discussion of [Christopher Columbus’] vast contributions with talk of failings, his discoveries with atrocities and his achievements with transgressions… We must not give in to these tactics or consent to such a bleak view of our history. We must teach future generations about our storied heritage, starting with the protection of monuments to our intrepid heroes like Columbus... Last month, I signed an Executive Order to root out the teaching of racially divisive concepts from the federal workplace, many of which are grounded in the same type of revisionist history that is trying to erase Christopher Columbus from our national heritage. Together, we must safeguard our history and stop this new wave of iconoclasm by standing against those who spread hate and division.
This sounds like something straight out of The Onion. But no, the URL is appallingly clear: whitehouse.gov. Words from our president himself.
President Trump releases a statement each year heralding “Columbus Day.” Unlike his predecessor, who urged the nation to consider the tragic consequences of Columbus’ voyage for Native American communities, Trump has acknowledged nothing other than Columbus’ apparent “heroism.” Trump has heralded Columbus’ “intrepid” contributions to the Western world, time and time again.
This year’s declaration goes one step further: he advocates eliminating education and programs that acknowledge the effects of racism in both our past and our present.
What, then, is this “holiday” meant to celebrate? Is it Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? Do we honor the man who is (incorrectly) credited for America’s discovery, or the millions of Native Americans who suffer today from the consequences of his actions?
Our President has demanded the former and tried to impose his view on the entire nation. In his pursuit of “patriotism,” Trump distorts truth and comfortably advances a flawed, glorified master narrative.
The issue of justice in America is fundamentally an issue of accountability. President Trump, like many other Americans, refuses to hold Christopher Columbus accountable for his actions. And in doing so, he reinforces a dangerous definition of patriotism for the American people: one that relies on the rejection of accountability and the erasure of our country’s violent, morally questionable origins. Now more than ever, we must consider the consequences of such a definition—consequences that extend not only to our perception of the past, but also to the future of racial equality in America.
Trump demonstrates his willingness to sacrifice truth for personal comfort. When he claims that he is “root[ing] out the teaching of racially divisive concepts from the federal workplace,” he hampers our country’s duty to accept responsibility for a history of undeniable injustice. What are “racially divisive concepts?” Ones which expose the difficult story of race in America? In truth, avoidance of this responsibility makes our country even more racially divided.
Three weeks ago, a Jefferson Country grand jury ruled not to charge anyone with the murder of Breonna Taylor. Innocent and unarmed, Taylor was shot six times by officers and died at the scene. While the bullet of detective Myles Cosgrove was confirmed to have been the fatal shot, the issue of accountability for her death is not so simple.
Perhaps, if the judge who granted the no-knock warrant had read the document completely and realized that it was inappropriate given the circumstances, the police might have approached her at a reasonable hour, or not at all. Perhaps, if the police had recognized she had a visitor in her home, they would not have executed the no-knock warrant. And, perhaps, if the police had not sent the ambulance away that was stationed near her home that night, Taylor might have received medical attention early enough to survive.
While a single officer’s bullet technically killed Taylor, everyone involved in this chain of events is ultimately accountable for her death. But in a cruel twist of irony, the series of bad judgments that led to Kenneth Walker’s entirely reasonable assumption that he should defend Taylor, led to no one being held accountable for Taylor’s death. Fundamentally, this is the issue that allows systemic injustice to persist: since so many people are responsible for maintaining a racist, classist, sexist society, nobody is held accountable. If everyone is responsible, then should no one be held accountable? Is this really what we want to teach the young children of America?
When we think of accountability, we often look for a single person or group to hold responsible for an issue. This perception of accountability is, in itself, irresponsible. To address systemic racism in America, each of us needs to recognize the uncomfortable truth of how we contribute to this unjust system. And to address systemic racism in America, we need leaders who will force Americans to face such responsibility, not leaders who run away from it and encourage us to do the same.
Donald Trump is not a patriot—a true patriot understands that their mission is to improve their country. By telling us to focus only on our country’s “storied heritage” and not the lasting consequences of Columbus’ imperialism, he is telling us not to improve our country, but to mask and foster its deficiencies.
Christopher Columbus and Breonna Taylor’s legacies lie on the opposite ends of the spectrum of accountability in our country. One is raised as a hero where he should not be, while the other is forgotten without ever seeing justice. Ultimately, it is the truth alone, however painful, that can address America’s divisiveness. We must acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and we must not allow Breonna Taylor’s case to pass. We must examine the systems and stereotypes that allowed these events to occur. The current Black Lives Matter movement has become perhaps the largest movement in U.S. history. If we cannot hold the nation accountable now, we never will.