Change the Name of Columbus High School
We are a group of loyal friends and alumni/ae of Columbus Catholic High School in Waterloo, Iowa. We support our school, and appreciate the excellent education we received there. At the core of that education was to always do what is right, and to speak out when witnessing wrongdoing. We are convinced that if what we now know about Christopher Columbus was widely known when our school was founded, it would never have been named for him. And we are convinced that our alma mater should not continue to carry his name.
Important Update, August 1, 2022
Over the past year or so, members of our committee have been conducting extensive historical research on wrongdoings of Christopher Columbus, to document specific things that he did that make him unworthy of having a Catholic School, or truly any educational institution, named after him. This research was based mainly on primary, contemporaneous documents from the era of Columbus that demonstrate such wrongdoing. In some cases, this information was supplemented by additional background from other reliable historical sources. The products of that research are the three new historical documents linked below.
In early July, the most detailed of these documents was shared with Archbishop Jackels by a member of our group along with a request that he consider the information and the moral issues involved in having a Catholic school named for Columbus in light of that information. Two days after the information was mailed, the Archbishop replied by email with an attached letter stating that he was unwilling to take action. In light of this, we feel that we have a moral duty to share with the public and with the Columbus High School community the information that we uncovered about Christopher Columbus. Below are links to the three historical documents we produced. Please read this information, and thoughtfully and prayerfully consider whether our Catholic High School should be named after him.
Actions by Christopher Columbus that Disqualify Him from Having a Catholic School Named After Him – This document lists, point by point, eleven specific actions by Columbus that make him unworthy of having a Catholic School, or indeed any school, named after him, along with sources documenting this information.
Historical Analysis of the Conduct of Christopher Columbus – This is the most detailed of our three documents, presenting extensive historical documentation and analysis of wrongdoing by Columbus. It is the document that was sent to the Archbishop.
No Christian Institution Should Be Named After Columbus – This a somewhat less detailed historical analysis, intermediate in length and detail between the two above documents, describing and analyzing Columbus’ behavior and how it makes him unworthy of having any Christian Institution named after him.
For your information, the letter from the Archbishop replying to the information and request we sent him can be found here.
History:
Many of us were taught that Columbus “discovered” the “New World” and brought Christianity to its native people. While it is unlikely that Columbus was the first European to travel to the Americas, he should be recognized for his courage and navigation skills as a sailor. However, history also demonstrates that Christopher Columbus was involved in the enslavement, mutilation, sexual abuse and killing of Native Americans during his four voyages to the “New World.” These atrocities defile Christian values. A bibliography of historical documents and reference materials substantiating such atrocities appears in the links below.
Although Columbus represented to the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, that his expeditions were intended to spread Christianity, his journals reflect that, when he reached the “New World,” Columbus focused more on searching for gold and other wealth than on Christian conversion. When Native Americans were unable to produce this wealth, Columbus resorted to physical abuse of the natives, including mutilation, and also enslaved Native Americans to be sold on his return to Europe.
Columbus might be considered the “Father of Slavery” in the Americas because he enslaved and sold Native Americans approximately 100 years before Africans were enslaved and sold in North America. Although the Catholic Church condoned slavery, in certain circumstances, at the time of Columbus, the Church never condoned inhumane treatment, such as sexual abuse, rape, or killing of slaves or indigenous people. As noted by the historical documents, these atrocities occurred, at least in part, with the authorization, approval and/or participation of Christopher Columbus. Today, the Church regards any form of slavery as evil and unacceptable.
Without accurate historical information, many organizations, in good faith, originally named themselves after Columbus. Since discovery of more accurate information, many states and communities have discontinued the celebration of “Columbus Day,” and now commemorate indigenous peoples, who were wrongfully mistreated.
Concerned that the name “Columbus” does not represent the values of our Catholic high school, a group of us provided this historical information to the Cedar Valley Catholic School (CVCS) Board of Education for its meeting on August 6, 2020, and for its meeting on October 1, 2020, and requested that the name of our school be changed.
Despite this information, the CVCS Board issued a Statement, attached to its October 1, 2020, minutes, refusing to remove the name “Columbus” from our school, even though the Board did not deny Columbus’ wrongdoings to Native Americans. Our disagreement with the Board's rationale is noted, in detail, in the document linked below. For example, we disagree with the Board's statements that CHS was not named after Christopher Columbus, that “Original Sin” somehow excused Columbus, and that Columbus may have repented for his enslavement of human beings before his death. In fact, historical evidence confirms that, prior to and after his death, Columbus and his heirs claimed that the Spanish monarchy owed Columbus 10% of the profits from his voyages, which profits included the sale of Native Americans. In short, there is no evidence that Columbus ever repented or sought redemption for his wrongdoing.
Addressing the wrongdoings of Christopher Columbus is not “cancel culture,” but what we were taught in Catholic schools: “Christian culture.” Our efforts to convince the CVCS Board and the Archdiocese of Dubuque to address this moral issue, and to remove the name “Columbus” from our Catholic school have, to date, been unsuccessful, but we pray that persons who believe in “Christian culture” will support this effort. Our high school deserves a name which does not effectively commemorate atrocities against Native Americans.
This position is supported by a list of individuals in the link immediately following this statement. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Click here to view the list of supporters
Other resources:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about changing our school’s name
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How can you help our effort now?
The most important thing you can do right now is to make your friends, family, and other contacts aware of our effort and of the new historical documentation we have produced. Please direct as many people as possible to our website www.changechsname.org