University of Notre Dame to Cover Christopher Columbus Murals on Campus

University of Notre Dame to Cover Christopher Columbus Murals on Campus

We have to make everyone forget history because it might offend some people. Did you ever imagine that higher education would be leading such a charge?

Inside Higher Ed reports:

Notre Dame Will Cover Columbus Murals

The University of Notre Dame announced Friday that it will cover a series of murals that depict Christopher Columbus and his famous journeys across the Atlantic.

Native American organizations have been calling for the removal of the murals, which portray Columbus as heroic and the Native Americans as beneficiaries of his arrival. Many colleges have struggled with art of earlier eras that does not reflect contemporary values of inclusiveness.

For Notre Dame, the issue of the murals has been particularly complicated. They are located in a prominent place in the Main Building. And they were for many years a point of pride to Roman Catholic students and alumni at the university. The murals are fragile and painted directly on the wall, so the university had no option to move them. The university has decided to cover the murals and make high-quality reproductions available elsewhere on campus (in a location not yet determined) with more historical context. The murals were painted by Luigi Gregori from 1882 through 1884.

“The murals present us with several narratives not easily reconciled, and the tensions among them are especially perplexing for us because of Notre Dame’s distinctive history and Catholic mission,” said a letter to the campus by the Reverend John I. Jenkins, president of the university.

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