By Steven Allen

This past week, Colombia celebrated “El Día de la Raza,” a national holiday dedicated to honoring the country’s rich and diverse heritage: Latino, Indigenous, Black/Caribbean, and White/European. It’s a day for everyone—no matter their background—to come together and recognize the beauty of collective identity.  

Curious about whether Colombians also observe individual months or holidays for specific identities, I asked my family and friends. Their response was simply this: “No. We are very diverse. And we like celebrating it.”  

It’s a simple but profound idea—a single day that embraces and unites a nation’s diversity. No divisions, no special dates for individual groups. Just one celebration, shared by all.  

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Columbus Day continues to spark controversy, with debates over whether it should be celebrated or replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, further reflecting the complexities of our national identity.

Reflecting on this, it’s hard not to think about how race is handled in the United States. Our fixation with dividing people into categories, assigning designated months or days, and politicizing identity feels, by comparison, exhausting—contrived, pandering, and, frankly, weaponized.  

If we really want to heal as a nation, maybe it’s time to borrow a page from Colombia’s playbook. How about our own “Día de la Raza”? One day for all of us—together.