Officials rename Columbus Day
Controversial holiday name now to be called Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Columbus Day is out and Indigenous groups are in when it comes to Clinton Township’s local government.
The township’s Board of Trustees voted 5-1 Monday to “update all references” to the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” Township Supervisor Bob Cannon voted against the measure, saying it was unfair to take away a day meant to honor the accomplishments and culture of the Italian people.
Cannon said Clinton Township — home of the Italian-American Cultural Center — has about 20% of its 100,500 residents listed as being of Italian descent.
”They are not going to be happy about us eliminating Columbus Day,” Cannon said at the board meeting. “If they had known this was going to be on the agenda tonight, this place would be full of angry Italians.”
Supporters say the move is aimed at making the community more inclusive.
More than one dozen states and 130 cities have moved toward some version of commemorating
Indigenous Peoples’ Day in lieu of Columbus Day, according to the New York Times.
The Times’ report says Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years. It became increasingly popular as a replacement for Columbus Day, which was meant to celebrate the explorer Christopher Columbus who sailed with a crew from Spain in three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, in 1492.
Critics, such as the Navajo Nation, the country’s largest tribe, say Columbus brought genocide and colonization to communities that had been in the Americas for thousands of years. But many communities around the country, such as Clinton Township, still celebrate Columbus Day or Italian Heritage Day as a point of pride, according to the Times article.
The issue was raised at the board meeting where trustees were to add Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth Day to the township’s calendar of paid holidays for employees. Currently, only police officers and firefighters receive a paid day off for the days.
According the township resolution, Juneteenth Day will be a day “honoring freedom from slavery and providing an opportunity to commemorate and reflect upon the circumstances of slavery and other oppressive injustices which have occurred affecting persons within the United States.”
Trustee Mike Keys said the move to alter the calendar represented a chance to “fix the reference of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day and include Juneteenth so we can take a step forward as a community and really start to embrace our diversity.”
Likewise, Trustee Tammy Patton, who is Black, noted 18% of the township’s population is African American, and yet Clinton Township failed to include MLK Day — which is a federally recognized as a holiday — as a holiday.
“This should have been done a long time ago,” she said.
Both Keys and Patton serve on the township’s diversity committee.
Cannon said the township has been trying for years to include MLK in contract negotiations with its labor unions. He did not say what the sticking point was.
Kim Meltzer, the township clerk, said she planned to bring a resolution to the board that would honor Italian descendents and culture.
“To take away a holiday that has been celebrated in this community for many years, that says the culture is not important, that’s my concern,” she said.