We encourage you to vote NO on ballot question 3, which proposes to remove Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day.

As an immigrant who escaped communist China, I am concerned about the increasing trend of cancel culture, which echoes the destructive Chinese Cultural Revolution that took place in the last century. During those tumultuous years, historical monuments were destroyed, and traditional holidays were banned. This movement seems to have found its way to the US, with ballot questions like this one arising from a very biased perspective on history.

It’s important to acknowledge that when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, slavery was already practiced by the indigenous peoples[1].

Columbus’s logs reveal his insistence on fair treatment for the people he encountered, and he even established policies to enforce this[2].

Columbus was brought back to Spain in chains for punishing Spaniards who failed to comply with these policies.

The conquest of the Americas by Spanish conquistadors, often cited as a genocide, began 13 years after Columbus’s death. If he were alive, he might have condemned these actions.

Our country was built on the principles of truth and forgiveness, not lies and hatred.

We invite you to support our efforts to preserve Columbus Day by signing our petition at:

https://ourfight.online/SaveColumbusDay01886

To contribute to our campaign, 
please send a check payable to:

Save Columbus Day 01886
135 Westview Drive
Westford, MA 01886

Don’t forget to vote on May 2nd.

Submitted by Raymond Xie
Former State Rep Candidate of Massachusetts
Current Member of the Westford Republican Town Committee

References:
[1] The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016), By Dr. ANDRÉS RESÉNDEZ, professor of history, University of California, Davis. This book was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and winner of the 2017 Bancroft Prize from Columbia University. 
[2] Christopher Columbus, "Journal of the First Voyage of Columbus," in Journal of Christopher Columbus (during his first voyage, 149293), 
and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real, edited and translated by Clements R. Markham 
(London: Hakluyt Society, 1893), 15-193.