On Monday night, the Board of Alders met to discuss concerns over the Board of Education’s redesignation of Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day and unanimously voted to establish Italian Heritage Day as an official city holiday on the second Monday of October.

Local community members and activists around the country have long called for the renaming of Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, claiming that the national holiday is an erasure of historical violence against Native Americans. In June, the BOE renamed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day –– however, they did not seek input from the alders or the public.