So Long, Columbus Day: Hello, 'Italian Heritage Day'

NEW YORK CITY — A flap over quietly erasing Columbus Day from New York City's school calendar prompted officials to backtrack and replace the holiday with a double-duty Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he didn't know about the change for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year until the calendar was released Tuesday by Department of Education officials.

The calendar not only eliminated snow days, but replaced the Columbus Day holiday for Oct. 11 with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

"I think this process wasn’t handled right,” de Blasio said Wednesday during a press briefing. “I certainly didn’t hear about this and neither did the Chancellor."

Columbus Day has become a flash point of controversy in recent years. Many Italian Americans embrace the holiday as a source of pride and a celebration of their heritage.

But many others view it as problematic, at best, given Columbus's role in enslaving, subjugating and killing people who were indigenous to the Americas.

Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter, in a tweet after the calendar was first revised, wrote school officials had discussions about renaming Columbus Day to "better reflect and honor more than just one person."

"It's now Italian Heritage/Indigenous People's Day, honoring the contributions of Italian-Americans as well as our indigenous communities," she wrote.

Last year, discussions began about renaming Columbus Day on the @NYCschools calendar to better reflect and honor more than just one person. It's now Italian Heritage/Indigenous People's Day, honoring the contributions of Italian-Americans as well as our indigenous communities.
— Chancellor Meisha Porter (@DOEChancellor) May 4, 2021

De Blasio said he takes pride in his own Italian American heritage. He said an anonymous school official's original idea to do away with Columbus Day completely wasn't "sufficient" but he's happy with the outcome.

“Of course, the day should not have been changed arbitrarily,” he said.