The Hispanic American History Journal
An archive of English-language articles on the internet
THE WAR AGAINST HISPANIC STATUES
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Statues Topple and a Catholic Church Burns as California Reckons With Its Spanish Colonial PastBy Abel R. Gomez, Syracuse University - Latino Rebels - July 24, 2020
Statues of the Spanish missionary Junípero Serra were recently toppled in the U.S. cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento as part of a national movement for racial justice sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. While activists in the southern U.S. are largely protesting monuments to slaveholding Confederate leaders like Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, California’s Serra statues represent a different contested chapter of American history: Spanish colonialism. For some, Father Serra is a saint—literally: He was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015. For others, including some descendants of the Indigenous people “missionized” by Spain’s Catholic church, Serra represents genocide. Read more . . . |
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Hispanic activist wants Chicano Studies classes censoredBy Russell Contreras - Associated Press - July 22, 2020
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — A New Mexico Hispanic leader upset about the removal of Spanish conquistador monuments is pushing for the state to end its support for Chicano and Native American Studies. In a letter to University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes, New Mexico League of United Latin American Citizens executive director Ralph Arellanes wrote that the state’s largest university should dismantle both programs because they teach Latino students “self-hate” about their Spanish heritage. Read more . . . |
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After San Gabriel Church Fire, LA Catholics Vow to ‘Renew Mission’‘We need to make this a moment for purification and renewal of … Mission San Gabriel,’ said Archbishop José Gomez, ‘and renewal of the mission that is each one of our lives.’
By Jim Graves - National Catholic Register - July 16, 2020
LOS ANGELES — Fire broke out in the early morning hours of July 11 at Mission San Gabriel Archangel in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, destroying the roof of the historic structure and doing major damage to its walls and recently-refurbished pews. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the local police and fire departments, although as the church fire occurred amid the backdrop of assaults on religious images and even churches across the U.S., some fear arson is a possibility. The fire was reported at 4:30am, and although the fire department quickly extinguished it, significant damage was done to the structure and its contents. Read more . . . |
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Fire Badly Damages San Gabriel Mission in CaliforniaBy Maria Cramer - The New York Times - July 13, 2020
A fire early on Saturday morning destroyed the roof and badly damaged the interior of San Gabriel Mission, a Catholic church in California that is more than 200 years old and considered to be the “birthplace” of the Los Angeles region. The mission was founded in 1771 by the Franciscan fathers under the leadership of the Rev. Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest who helped colonize California. Construction of the church started in 1775 and ended in 1805 . . . Read more . . . |
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San Gabriel Mission fire provokes deep, conflicting reactionsBy Gustavo Arellano - LA Times - July 13, 2020
Edgar Hernandez fumbled with his keys as he tried to unlock the gates to the San Gabriel Mission cemetery just before 7 a.m. Sunday Mass. The 38-year-old kept looking across the parking lot to the ruins of one of the oldest Catholic houses of worship in Southern California. The day before, fire had engulfed the 215-year-old mission church. The roof was destroyed; the pews, incinerated. Only the altar and adobe walls survived. Read more . . . |
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Racist, brutal past or Hispanic history? Latinos clash over Spanish colonial statues
By Gwen Aviles - NBC News - July 5, 2020
Yolanda Leyva's protests 13 years ago against the erection of a statue of Juan de Oñate, a Spanish conquistador, cost her relationships and added to heightening division in her community. And in the end, it all seemed for naught: After months of having rallied with others, she learned that the statue would be installed in front of El Paso International Airport in Texas anyway. Read more . . . |
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Christopher Columbus statue removed from Columbus City HallThe Columbus Dispatch, USA Today - July 1, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Crews early Wednesday removed the statue of Christopher Columbus from in front of Columbus City Hall. Shortly before 6:30 a.m. local time, the statue was lifted off its pedestal and rotated to face City Hall. Within an hour, the statue had been placed onto a flatbed truck and taken away from the area. Read more . . . |
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No, Father Junipero Serra wasn’t a “genocide” eitherBy The Hispanic Council
Once again, we witness with sadness the tearing down of the statue of another Hispanic figure from the USA, in this case the one of Father Junípero Serra. This Spanish Franciscan, far from being a “genocide” or a “racist”, represented the opposite throughout his life. That is why we wanted to remember who this Majorcan was and what he did to become the first Hispanic saint in the United States. Read more . . . |
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The physical annihilation of historyBy Rafael Prieto Zartha - HiddenHispanicHeritage.com
I am enraged and desolate with the vandalism on the statues of Christopher Columbus and other explorers who ventured into America on behalf of Spain, in this time of mobilizations and historical revisionism. The sculptures have been decapitated, taken from their bases with bows and chains, some have been drowned by the barbarians and others painted with colorful varnish in a disrespectful manner. Read more . . . |
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Without protest, Hartford removes Christopher Columbus statue early MondayBy Christine Dempsey - Hartford Courant - June 29, 2020
Amid a national outcry over monuments that represent discrimination and enslavement, the city of Hartford early Monday quietly removed a statue of Christopher Columbus that stood in the shadow of the state Capitol for almost 100 years. A crew arrived in the pre-dawn darkness at 3:30 a.m., and the 8-foot-tall, bronze statue was lifted off its granite base two hours and 15 minutes later. Workers adjusted the riggings so the statue could be placed on a flatbed horizontally, and it was hauled away just before 7 a.m. Read more . . . |
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Protests target Spanish colonial statues that 'celebrate genocide' in US westNative Americans in New Mexico have held protests to demand that effigies glorifying conquistadors be removed
THE GUARDIAN - June 24, 2020
As a national debate swirls around statues of Confederate officials, a new battle is brewing in the western US over the fate of monuments glorifying the brutal Spanish conquest of the Americas. They include effigies of Diego De Vargas, who ordered the execution of 70 Pueblo Indians and the enslavement of hundreds of women and children, and conquistador Juan De Oñate, who is known for ordering the massacre of 800 Acoma people and for the right feet of 24 captive Acoma warriors to be amputated. Read more . . . |
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Catholic Church removes Junípero Serra statue from San Luis Obispo MissionBy Matt Fountain - The Tribune - June 22, 2020
The Catholic Church abruptly removed a long-standing statue of Junípero Serra from the San Luis Obispo Mission on Monday, amid a reassessment of the missionary’s controversial history that includes abuses against Native Americans. The statue was brought down by a work crew at about noon Monday to “safeguard the statute and to protect it from vandalism,” a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Monterey, which owns the Mission property, said Monday. The statue’s removal follows weeks of protests against systematic oppression of ethnic minorities. Similar statues of the Catholic priest have been toppled by protesters in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Read more . . . |
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The Hispanic Council launches the campaign #RespectHispanicHeritageThe Hispanic Council
After the latest attacks against figures of the US Hispanic history we are launching the campaign #RespectHispanicHeritage. We want to vindicate the Hispanic cultural heritage of the United States and we explain it in this Decalogue: 10 reasons to vindicate the Hispanic cultural heritage of the United States: Read more . . . |
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Who is Junipero Serra and why are California protesters toppling statues of this saint?In California, statues of Junipero Serra — who led the Catholic Church's missionary efforts among Native Americans on the West Coast — are coming into question.
By Alejandra Molina - Religion News Service - June 20, 2020
(RNS) — As protesters on Friday toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, leaders of another California city had already announced plans to remove a statue of the Catholic saint near their city hall. And by Saturday afternoon another Serra statue was toppled at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles. “Pull it! Pull it! This is for our ancestors,” a person shouted. Read more . . . |
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Los Angeles Protesters Take Down Father Junipero Serra StatueCBS Los Angeles - June 21, 2020 - A statue of Father Junipero Serra at Father Serra Park in downtown Los Angeles was toppled on Saturday. A day earlier, a different statue of Serra, Francis Scott Key and former President Ulysses S. Grant were overturned in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Read more . . . |
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We don’t need to erase Florida’s Spanish heritage to fight modern-day racism | OpinionBy Fabiola Santiago - June 18, 2020
The international statue wars have arrived in multicultural Miami, a city of refuge dubbed ”Gateway to the Americas.” With no Confederate symbols on the town square to topple, a handful of Black Lives Matter protesters last week painted in red and tagged with provocative symbols the bronze statues of explorers Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León in Downtown Miami. For many Hispanics, even those who support the movement to end racial injustice and demand police accountability, it was jarring and confusing. Read more . . . |
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Colorado will replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day, the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman in the USBy Alisha Ebrahimji - CNN - March 11, 2020
(CNN)Colorado passed legislation Tuesday to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day because bill sponsors say it doesn't represent their community members. The first Monday of October will now honor Frances Xavier Cabrini, who according to the bill, is the woman responsible for creating 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States and South and Central America throughout her lifetime. Read more . . . https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/colorado-columbus-day-cabrini-day-trnd/index.html |
The “Latinx” War on Mexicanidad Louis Nevaer
Sep 3·2020
https://medium.com/@nevaer1/the-latinx-war-on-mexicanidad-81fafcb5f26b
Before you ask: Yes it would be wonderful to build an archive of all Spanish-language history articles that are on the internet. But that require an army of researchers, and I'm just one!
The tragedy of the San Gabriel Mission fire
By Matthew Walther - July 14, 2020 The Week
https://theweek.com/articles/925254/tragedy-san-gabriel-mission-fire
The Statues Brought Down Since the George Floyd Protests Began
ALAN TAYLOR JULY 2, 2020 27 PHOTOS IN FOCUS - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/07/photos-statues-removed-george-floyd-protests-began/613774/
Sep 3·2020
https://medium.com/@nevaer1/the-latinx-war-on-mexicanidad-81fafcb5f26b
Before you ask: Yes it would be wonderful to build an archive of all Spanish-language history articles that are on the internet. But that require an army of researchers, and I'm just one!
The tragedy of the San Gabriel Mission fire
By Matthew Walther - July 14, 2020 The Week
https://theweek.com/articles/925254/tragedy-san-gabriel-mission-fire
The Statues Brought Down Since the George Floyd Protests Began
ALAN TAYLOR JULY 2, 2020 27 PHOTOS IN FOCUS - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/07/photos-statues-removed-george-floyd-protests-began/613774/
