Columbus Day

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Spain's Right Isn't Pleased With Biden's Take on Columbus

They're very much into it

(Newser) - If you thought the controversy over Columbus Day was restricted to US shores, you'd be wrong. What became a US federal holiday in 1937 is celebrated in grand fashion in Spain a day later, on Oct. 12. There, it's more like a Fourth of July or Bastille Day,...

Columbus Day Sprang From Violence
History of Columbus Day
Is a Violent One
the rundown

History of Columbus Day Is a Violent One

President Harrison acted after a mob killed Italian immigrants in New Orleans

(Newser) - Monday is Columbus Day, though the term "politically fraught" is a common one used these days to describe the federal holiday. A look at its history, as well as views from supporters and critics:
  • Going away? Many states and municipalities have either ditched Columbus Day and replaced it with
...

Judge: It's Time to Take Statue Out of the Box

Controversial Columbus statue has been hidden behind plywood since June 2020

(Newser) - The Philadelphia city government is fine with leaving Christopher Columbus right where he is, which is in a box in Marconi Plaza. A judge issued an order Friday that the box around the controversial statue be removed. Judge Paula Patrick said that a clear structure should be put around the...

Biden Marks Columbus, Indigenous Peoples' Days

President acknowledges atrocities committed by European explorers

(Newser) - President Joe Biden on Friday issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, lending the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of native peoples. The day will be observed on Oct. 11, along with Columbus Day, which is...

Combining Holidays Pleases Few
Combining
Holidays
Pleases Few

Combining Holidays Pleases Few

New York officials rip school system's decision

(Newser) - In a possibly futile effort to please both Italian Americans who celebrate Christopher Columbus and racial justice advocates who accuse him of genocide, the New York City public school system has designated Oct. 11 as Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day. The double-naming of the school holiday happened Tuesday after...

Protesters in Mexico: 'We Were Not Discovered'

Demonstrators in several nations mark Columbus Day in the streets

(Newser) - Mexicans have never had much affection for Cristopher Columbus, and officials were coy about why his statue was removed from the capital's main boulevard before Monday's observances of Columbus Day, which saw protests in several Latin American nations. Unlike in other cities where monuments to the 15th-century explorer...

GOP Debates Scrapping Holiday to Make Room for Juneteenth

Columbus Day is the most likely candidate

(Newser) - Republican senators are open to the idea of making Juneteenth a federal holiday—but some of them want to scrap another holiday to make space for it. An internal GOP debate over eliminating Columbus Day, or potentially another holiday, has held up a bipartisan Juneteenth bill, the Hill reports. June...

'It's Time for War': Big School District Drops Columbus Day

Chicago schools replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day

(Newser) - Chicago schools are dropping Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day, but political and civic leaders have vowed to push back. The Chicago Board of Education voted 5-2 on the move Wednesday to recognize the people already living in America when Christopher Columbus landed in 1492, KMOV reports. "...

Vandals Cover Columbus in Red
Vandals Cover
Columbus in Red 

Vandals Cover Columbus in Red

San Francisco's statue is among those left with messages decrying genocide

(Newser) - Crews were cleaning statues of Christopher Columbus in several cities Monday after vandals splashed red paint on the monuments and added messages including "Stop celebrating genocide." Statues in Providence, Rhode Island; San Francisco; and Chula Vista, California, were vandalized, per the AP . The San Francisco statue, which is...

US City That Just Canceled Columbus Day Is a Surprising One

Columbus, Ohio, will be celebrating veterans instead

(Newser) - The largest city named for Christopher Columbus has called off its observance of the divisive holiday honoring the explorer, making a savvy move to tie the switch to a politically safe demographic: veterans. Per the AP , Ohio's capital city will be open for business Monday, after observing Columbus Day...

More Workers Getting Martin Luther King Day Off

42% of American workers get a paid day off

(Newser) - More and more employers are giving their workers the day off for Martin Luther King Day, so much so that the holiday in honor of the slain civil rights leader now has more stature than Presidents' Day and Good Friday. Per Bloomberg , 42% of American employers close for the holiday....

Cities Are Dropping Columbus for Indigenous Peoples Day

Some Italian-Americans aren't happy about the decision

(Newser) - Is it time to say arrivederci to Christopher Columbus? A movement to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day has gained momentum in some parts of the US, with Los Angeles in August becoming the biggest city yet to decide to stop honoring the Italian explorer and...

LA Scraps Columbus Day, Will Honor Someone Else

Indigenous Peoples Day will now occur on 2nd Monday of October

(Newser) - The Los Angeles City Council has voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day as an official holiday. Council members voted 14-1 on Wednesday to make the second Monday in October a day to commemorate indigenous, aboriginal, and native people. It will be a paid holiday for city employees....

To Be More Inclusive, City Renames 'Good Friday'

Bloomington, Indiana, changes Columbus Day, too

(Newser) - Bloomington, Indiana, city employees will indeed get paid time off for Good Friday and Columbus Day in 2017, but the holidays won't go by those names anymore. Mayor John Hamilton on Friday announced via memo that as a way to "demonstrate our commitment to inclusivity," the days...

In More Places, Christopher Columbus Who?

Movement to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day gaining steam

(Newser) - Why does the US have a national holiday commemorating a man many see as an immoral conqueror? That's a question they're asking all across the US, NPR reports, with places including, most recently, the city of Phoenix and the entire state of Vermont altering the holiday in order...

Barcelona Officials Want to Rip Down Columbus Statue

Barcelona council members say it glorifies colonialism, explorer's 'conquest of America'

(Newser) - Just a couple of years after the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor, a statue of Christopher Columbus was erected to grace Barcelona's skyline—and while the former represents freedom and friendship, local council members say the latter should be torn down for symbolizing the worst...

Abolish Columbus Day? 5 Takes on the Holiday
Abolish Columbus Day?
5 Takes on the Holiday
OPINION

Abolish Columbus Day? 5 Takes on the Holiday

Italian-American group may suggest renaming it

(Newser) - Today is Columbus Day, but is this a holiday on the way out? USA Today notes that nine cities across the US have now named this Indigenous Peoples Day, including Albuquerque and Portland, Ore., and the movement looks likely to grow. Some samples of the back-and-forth about the second Monday...

Sorry, Columbus: Seattle Honors Native Americans

City council redesignates 2nd Monday of October

(Newser) - Columbus Day is no longer "Columbus Day" in Seattle. The city council yesterday redesignated the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day. Reuters reports that the measure notes that Native Americans inhabited North America long before Columbus showed up in the New World; further, it points out that...

Minneapolis Axes Columbus Day, Replaces It

Indigenous People's Day gets a crack at the 2nd Monday in October

(Newser) - If you wait breathlessly every year for that brisk second Monday in October and the Columbus Day holiday that goes with it, then chances are Minneapolis is not the place for you. As the Star-Tribune reports, the Minnesota city's council voted unanimously on Friday to dump Columbus Day on...

Columbus? Meh. Today Should Be Immigration Day

It makes more sense than 'Indigenous Peoples' Day': Philip Bump

(Newser) - Christopher Columbus is seen by some as the person who opened the door to the genocide of Native Americans—and as such, those people celebrate today as Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day. On Mediaite , Philip Bump appreciates that sentiment, but notes that it’s a little “knee-jerk....

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