Akron City Council has wrapped up a three-year long process to do away with Columbus Day. Beginning in 2021 because of the pandemic, the city will celebrate Italian-American Heritage and Culture Day each October. September will be known as “Welcoming Month.” 

Eliminating Columbus Day in Akron was first introduced in 2017. Councilman Russel Neal Jr. proposed renaming it Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate the state’s original inhabitants. The measure didn’t pass, in part, because many Akron Italian-Americans were against it.