Five New York House members, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, are facing accusations of spreading hate by pushing to eliminate Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous People’s Day. The group of Democrats, also including Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Grace Meng, and Gregory Meeks, are co-sponsoring legislation to make this change, which has been met with opposition from an Italian-American civic group. The Columbus Heritage Coalition has spoken out against the proposal, arguing that it is an attack on their heritage and the legacy of Christopher Columbus.
The bill, known as H.R. 5822, aims to designate Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a legal public holiday and replace the term ‘Columbus Day’ with the term ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day.’ Proponents of the change argue that Columbus’ actions towards Native Americans during his voyages make it inappropriate to continue celebrating him with a federal holiday. However, Italian-Americans feel that eliminating Columbus Day would be a disservice to their heritage and the contributions that members of their community have made to the nation.
Amid the controversy, Representative Grace Meng, who represents a large portion of Queens, has expressed her support for both groups. She stated that both Italian-Americans and Indigenous Peoples deserve to be recognized and celebrated, suggesting that there should be separate holidays for each group. Despite this, the Italian-American community continues to oppose the efforts to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day, viewing it as an attack on their cultural identity.
Representative Ocasio-Cortez, on the other hand, has taken a different approach, suggesting as early as 2018 that Columbus Day should be replaced with Election Day as a national holiday. She argues that Election Day is of greater significance and should be a day off work for Americans. However, the debate over Columbus Day continues to polarize communities and ignite cultural wars, with some Roman Catholic universities even choosing to no longer refer to the holiday as Columbus Day on their calendars.
In addition to the debate over Columbus Day, a new report claims that Christopher Columbus may not have been an ethnic Italian from Genoa, as previously believed, but instead a Sephardic Jew. This revelation adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing discussion surrounding Columbus and his legacy, further fueling the controversy over whether his actions warrant celebration through a federal holiday. As the discussions and debates continue, it remains to be seen how the issue will be resolved and whether Columbus Day will eventually be replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
