My name is Angela Pachia Hang and I am a Patrick Henry High School student. We have been studying the arrival of Europeans in the Americas in our U.S. History class and learned there is a statue of Christopher Columbus on the state capitol grounds. I believe the statue should be removed. This issue to me is important because Columbus killed people who did not do anything to him. He was a bad man and he did a lot of bad things.
Here are some specific facts from our class activities and my own research to support the need for changes to the statue of Christopher Columbus on our state capitol grounds.
When Columbus got to the Caribbean islands he took hold of the Arawak by force. Columbus made the Taino be slaves. Columbus would make the Taino people find gold, but if they didn’t he would cut off one of their hands. The Taino treated Columbus nicely and kindly but Columbus treated the Taino badly.
I believe that my voice matters, particularly in issues of who we choose to honor in our nation’s history. For these reasons, I would like to see Minnesotans come together and remove the Christopher Columbus memorial that is on the state capitol grounds.
Angela Pachia Hang,
Henry High School