100K+ Signatures!!!

I want to begin by thanking EACH and every one of you who have signed the petition to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. Without your collective efforts and the time you all have taken from your lives; amidst the stress of the pandemic, and the struggles we deal with on an individual level; you all have united together beyond race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, nationality to aid in bringing awareness to this overdue action- and I couldn’t have done it without you all.

I am grateful and I am humbled. This is a clear example and a reminder of what we can do as a United nation of Americans. 

I have read through so many of your comments as to your ‘why’ about why you chose to sign the petition. Some are teachers signing so they can see these changes in their curriculum; to teach more truth than narrow and manipulated history to our youth.

Some are Native Americans, representing their community and their ancestors who have suffered generations of genocide that stemmed from European exploration post-Columbus. 

Some are Latinos who are introducing themselves to their own roots and heritage and confronting the fact that this oppressive holiday doesn’t speak to the full birth of such diverse nations. It doesn’t speak to the current economic turmoil that has taken place in our countries of origin. It doesn’t speak to our issues with race and colorism. It doesn’t speak to our language and being strongly rooted in familism despite American assimilation. 
Some are African Americans, who are standing in resistance of persistent oppressive practices in this country. They are joining their powerful voices alongside their Native American and Latino brothers and sisters and declaring their “why” on the petition. 

Its not lost on me that we are merely days away from Election Day. And no matter what side of the coin is chosen, the future is continuously altered through the action and inaction of our government. No matter what side of tide you stand on, we can all agree that our Congress and our democracy is weak and in times like this petition - 100K plus signatures strong - we are reminded of how we are our most powerful when we are united as one. 

I believe in this petition and I believe in all of you. I want to encourage you all to keep sharing the petition, keep letting your voice be heard by family, friends, and colleagues. The more we share the petition, the more signatures, and the more visibility it will get in the media. With the media on our side, we could apply the appropriate pressure to our lawmakers to make this a Federal change. 

So thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for being 100,000+ signatures strong. And for standing for what is truly historical and what is right. Patriotism doesn’t always mean agreeing with every single decision, law, or holiday our government makes.

Sometimes, our biggest act of patriotism is recognizing when we are wrong, where we went wrong, and atoning for that by taking the right steps to fix it. This embracing of evolution is what I believe keeps America constantly shedding it’s layers and keeping us pushing the global envelope. History shows us that CHANGE doesn’t happen over night, it happens one opened mind at a time. I will update you all again when we hit 200K signatures! Until then, stay safe, stay educated, and stay American. 

-Antonella Perez