    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 10100 of October 9, 2020
    Columbus Day, 2020
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation
    More than 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus's intrepid voyage to the
    New World ushered in a new era of exploration and discovery. His travels
    led to European contact with the Americas and, a century later, the
    first settlements on the shores of the modern day United States. Today,
    we celebrate Columbus Day to commemorate the great Italian who opened a
    new chapter in world history and to appreciate his enduring significance
    to the Western Hemisphere.
    When Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed across the Atlantic Ocean
    on the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María it marked the
    beginning of a new era in human history. For Italian Americans,
    Christopher Columbus represents one of the first of many immeasurable
    contributions of Italy to American history. As a native of Genoa,
    Columbus inspired early immigrants to carry forth their rich Italian
    heritage to the New World. Today, the United States benefits from the
    warmth and generosity of nearly 17 million Italian Americans, whose love
    of family and country strengthen the fabric of our Nation. For our
    beautiful Italian American communities--and Americans of every
    background--Columbus remains a legendary figure.
    Sadly, in recent years, radical activists have sought to undermine
    Christopher Columbus's legacy. These extremists seek to replace
    discussion of his vast contributions with talk of failings, his
    discoveries with atrocities, and his achievements with transgressions.
    Rather than learn from our history, this radical ideology and its
    adherents seek to revise it, deprive it of any splendor, and mark it as
    inherently sinister. They seek to squash any dissent from their
    orthodoxy. We must not give in to these tactics or consent to such a
    bleak view of our history. We must teach future generations about our
    storied heritage, starting with the protection of monuments to our
    intrepid heroes like Columbus. This June, I signed an Executive Order to
    ensure that any person or group destroying or vandalizing a Federal
    monument, memorial, or statue is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
    law.
    I have also taken steps to ensure that we preserve our Nation's history
    and promote patriotic education. In July, I signed another Executive
    Order to build and rebuild monuments to iconic American figures in a
    National Garden of American Heroes. In September, I announced the
    creation of the 1776 Commission, which will encourage our educators

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    to teach our children about the miracle of American history and honor
    our founding. In addition, last month I signed an Executive Order to
    root out the teaching of racially divisive concepts from the Federal
    workplace, many of which are grounded in the same type of revisionist
    history that is trying to erase Christopher Columbus from our national
    heritage. Together, we must safeguard our history and stop this new wave
    of iconoclasm by standing against those who spread hate and division.
    On this Columbus Day, we embrace the same optimism that led Christopher
    Columbus to discover the New World. We inherit that optimism, along with
    the legacy of American heroes who blazed the trails, settled a
    continent, tamed the wilderness, and built the single-greatest nation
    the world has ever seen.
    In commemoration of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage, the
    Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, modified in 1968 (36
    U.S.C. 107), has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of
    October of each year as ``Columbus Day''
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 12, 2020, as
    Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe
    this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that
    the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on
    the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have
    contributed to shaping this Nation.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of
    October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fifth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP