COLUMBUS DAY GREETINGS

"Celebration is not an appropriate observance of this anniver-sary. For the indigenous people of the Caribbean islands, Chris-topher Columbus's invasion marked the beginning of slavery and their eventual genocide. For Central America, the result was slavery, genocide and exploitation, leading to the present struggle for liberation. For South America, the result was slavery, geno-cide, and the exploitation of their mineral and other natural resources. For the people of modern Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines the result was the eventual grabbing of the land, genocide and the present economic captivity . . . "

National Council of Churches in Christ of the U.S.A.