Woodbridge Resident Asks Council To Get Rid Of Columbus Day

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A local resident is asking the Woodbridge Twp. Council to introduce a resolution at their next meeting, Oct. 5 that will make the second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples' Day in Woodbridge.

The resident is Jimmy Dabrowski. He wants the town council to replace Columbus Day, which he called "outdated," to Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Last week, Dabrowski emailed his proposal to the entire Woodbridge town council but so far, no member has told him they will take up his request. When asked Monday, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac declined to comment on the matter to Patch.

"I'm a lifelong resident of Woodbridge Township. I grew up in Avenel (where my parents still live), and now reside in Woodbridge proper with my wife and our fourth grade son," said Dabrowski. "I sent the resolution in hopes that one of the council members will step up and sponsor/motion it, and that another council member will second it so that it can be voted on at our next council meeting on October 5."

No members of the Woodbridge Council got back to Patch when we asked if they would be introducing it.

You can read Dabrowski's resolution here: https://www.mediafire.com/file...

"Woodbridge is built upon Lenapehoking, the Lenape name for Lenape land," continued Dabrowski. "One hundred years ago Woodbridge would have never raised the progressive pride flag or celebrated Juneteenth, two inclusive events we only just began to acknowledge for the very first time in Woodbridge this past June 2021."

"And as Woodbridge begins to deepen our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and antiracism, we look forward to many more such important and inspiring firsts in our community," he said. "Let's get on the right side of history and make Indigenous Peoples' Day the next proud first for Woodbridge."

Monday, October 11 this year was denoted to all Woodbridge Township employees as being a day they have off for Columbus Day, according this holiday schedule Township memo obtained by Dabrowski.

Dabrowski said he wants Columbus Day to be ended outright in Woodbridge.

"To be clear, I have no problem with Italian Heritage Day (which Mayor John McCormac mentioned will be celebrated on the second Sunday of October at 10 a.m.), so long as it's not a façade for continuing to celebrate Columbus Day," he said. "Being part Italian myself, I find any association with a barbaric murderer, rapist, enslaver and colonizer like Columbus to be deeply offensive, as do many other Italian Americans of conscience ... But the biggest insult is of course to indigenous peoples. Italian Americans have assimilated into whiteness and gained its privilege, while indigenous peoples continue to be marginalized, oppressed, dismissed and erased."

Last October, the Woodbridge Youth for Liberation and Equity protested the celebration of Columbus Day in the Twp.

They are a group of about 40 young people — nearly all of whom grew up in Woodbridge and attended Woodbridge public schools — who are advocating for racial change in the Woodbridge police department and school district. Read this July 2020 profile of the group: Woodbridge Youth for Liberation and Equity: We Want Racial Change

Dabrowski is a teacher in the Perth Amboy school district and is a member of the local NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Perth Amboy area branch, which represents Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, Sayreville and Carteret.

Dabrowski said he is also a member of the Equity and Diversity Committee at EJ Patten Elementary School in Perth Amboy.

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