by Charlene Cowan

Over Thanksgiving, I had the chance to share a meal with friends in Baltimore City. As we finished our food and were imbibing good conversation and egg nog, a friend read aloud a headline published in The Baltimore Sun: "City Council moves to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples and Italian-Americans Day." This was not surprising to me; I became aware of the proposal in October when I received a sponsored Facebook post in which Councilman Brandon Scott published his plan. But it was still upsetting.

In recent decades, many groups have called for the eradication of Columbus Day and its replacement with a new holiday. While I agree that sacrifices and tragedies incurred by native and Indigenous people during the colonization of our continent deserve remembrance, we must also recognize the importance of Columbus Day as a stand-alone holiday in celebrating the heritage of the many thousands of Italian-Americans who have made significant contributions to our beloved Baltimore.

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Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/