The Board of Education voted to change the name of Christopher Columbus Family Academy and to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The school’s name will go before a committee, which will be tasked with collecting input and providing a recommendation on a new name. The change to the holiday name will only impact what is recognized on the district’s own calendar.
Board members were unanimous in their opposition to Columbus, who has been a lightning rod of controversy for violent colonization of the Americas while also being a symbol of pride for many Italian-Americans for his navigational skills and formative role in the foundation of modern America. But the discussion was heated as board member Darnell Goldson spoke out about how the board was using its authority.
