Columbus Day, once an innocuous holiday (for some), has in recent years become a flash point for our never-ending culture war. Many (rightly) point out that Christopher Columbus was an evil man - and unleashed a genocide on Native Americans unparalleled in human history. While others (wrongly) want to celebrate this man as an American hero, who sailed the ocean blue in 1492, etc... and deny the atrocities associated with his legacy.But there is more to the history of the formation of this holiday that is worth discussing. A little known history that involves race, class, power, and the largest mass lynching in American history. It is a story about White Supremacy, and how the rich and powerful divide people to make a profit. It is a story that celebrates Italian Immigrants... It is a story that asks: who is allowed to be considered an American, and why? It is a story that continues to this day - as federal ICE agents terrorize immigrant communities as they police entry into the American story.