A school district in New Jersey voted this week to strip “holiday names” from their calendar in an effort to avoid “hurt feelings” among local families.
“After an outcry at a raucous public meeting over a previous decision to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day, the board of education at a New Jersey school district decided to strip all holiday names off of the school calendar,” reports Fox New York.
A New Jersey school district opted to strip its calendar of all holidays after an outcry from dozens of angry parents over a move to change the name of Columbus Day.
They said it was to avoid any "hurt feelings."https://t.co/YUXehLGfqM
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 11, 2021
“The Randolph County Schools board voted unanimously to call Thanksgiving, Christmas, Yom Kippur, and every other holiday ‘day off’ when about 100 people attended the meeting, many of whom sought to protest a proposal to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day,” writes the Washington Examiner.
“Why did the board make this motion? Well, Columbus’s role in history, and he was history, has come into question,” a board member said.
“Are we going to take a look at President’s Day? Are we going into Lincoln’s birthday to change that? Are we going to look to change Martin Luther King Day? These are all great people. These are people who brought a lot to make our country great, and I think you have a lot of nerve to try to make these changes without letting people know,” said one local.
Read the full report here.
COLUMBUS CANCELED: Mass. City Replaces ‘Columbus Day’ with ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Celebration
The city of Somerville, Massachusetts announced their plans to ditch the annual Columbus Day festivities this year; instituting a new celebration in honor of the region’s ‘Indigenous Peoples.’
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone unveiled the new holiday Thursday, joining other New England town’s such as Portland, Maine and Durham, New Hampshire who have opted to scrap the traditional American holiday in recent years.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone announced that on Oct. 8, the city would observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognizing Native American heritage rather than extolling Christopher Columbus and his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. https://t.co/DgXfjtRmBT
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) September 14, 2018
“Columbus Day is a relic of an outdated and oversimplified version of history,” Curtatone posted on social media. “We all know there’s more to the story than a nursery rhyme.”
“This issue is a lot like the Confederate flag for southerners,” Curtatone added. “We are proud of our heritage. Yet the specifics of this holiday run so deep into human suffering that we need to shift our pride elsewhere.”
IT BEGINS: Major US City Renames Columbus Day 'Indigenous Peoples' Day
Portland, Maine is the second major American city to rename the annual October holiday, commonly known as Columbus Day, as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” following a unanimous vote by the Portland City Council.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the town became the latest Maine municipality to abandon the holiday celebrating famed Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who arrived in the Western Hemisphere in October of 1492.
“This is like a slap in the face to the Italians who reside here,” said a member of the Italian-American Heritage Center.
“We look at that as something that celebrates our contribution to the city of Portland and the country overall,” said another member. “We understand all of these things are tainted in history.”
The national debate over historical American symbols and memorials continues to rage throughout the country. What began as a conversation regarding the place of Confederate statues on public property has spilled over into other, less controversial historical symbols, including the national anthem, Thomas Jefferson, the American flag, and Christopher Columbus.
Statues dedicated to Columbus have been vandalized by left-wing activists throughout the country in places like New York City, Baltimore, Houston, and Buffalo.
“He’s a rapist. He’s an enslaver,” said one liberal Portland resident. “If he were alive today there is no doubt he would be on death row. It’s absolute nonsense.”
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