The fall of the statue of Christopher Columbus in Saint Paul, Minnesota
For centuries, world leaders who claim to uphold justice have simultaneously protected historical figures linked to slavery, colonial brutality, and crimes against humanity.
This contradiction has left the world bleeding, because the same governments that imprison criminals also glorify men whose actions caused suffering on a massive scale.
The United States and several European nations continue to honor individuals whose legacies are built on violence, exploitation, and racial oppression.
It is impossible to apologize for slavery while statues of Francis Drake and Christopher Columbus still stand, reminding descendants of enslaved Africans of the horrors their ancestors endured.
Likewise, Belgium cannot claim moral leadership while monuments of King Leopold II, responsible for the deaths of millions of Africans, remain proudly displayed across the country.
These statues are not harmless symbols; they are wounds carved into public spaces. Black people have long understood that some white institutions want them to feel inferior, but that psychological manipulation no longer works.
From historical narratives to school textbooks, society has celebrated “the first white man to do this” and “the first white man to do that,” while rarely acknowledging the achievements of Black pioneers.
Yet history itself proves that civilization began in Africa. Anyone who doubts this must study Egypt and the ancient scholarly city of Timbuktu in Mali.
The brutal murder of George Floyd by white racist officers ignited global outrage. Black people, exhausted by generations of injustice, took to the streets across America and around the world.
The Black Lives Matter movement, founded in 2013, gained renewed strength as demonstrators demanded the removal of statues honoring figures tied to slavery and colonialism, including Christopher Columbus in Minnesota, King Leopold II in Belgium, and slave trader Robert Milligan in London.
Despite this, many leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, opposed the removal of these monuments. But the truth is undeniable: long before the George Floyd protests, historians and activists had already called for Columbus statues to be dismantled.
The claim that Columbus “discovered” America is historically false. Indigenous Arawak people lived on the land centuries before he arrived. Reggae legends like Burning Spear and Joseph Hill of Culture have long denounced these lies through music, refusing to let false narratives stand unchallenged.
Black people will not repay evil with evil, but they will continue to confront racism, discrimination, and inequality. The demand is simple: equal opportunities and truthful history. The color of blood is the same in every human being, red, whether white or Black.
The distortion of historical facts has caused generations of misunderstanding, prejudice, and injustice. Correcting these lies is essential today because truth is the foundation of dignity, equality, and healing. Only by acknowledging what really happened can society move forward with honesty and respect.
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