A new name for Columbus Day?

[blackcrowheart]

A new name for Columbus Day?
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Editorial Board
Article Last Updated: 01/21/2007

The ongoing battle over the Columbus Day Parade has moved from the street to
the state legislature.
Democratic Sen. Suzanne Williams is considering legislation to change the
Columbus Day holiday in Colorado.
Colorado was the first state to observe the holiday in 1905. It's now a
federal holiday, which will be observed on Oct. 8 this year. American Indians
have long protested Denver's parade celebration, saying Columbus did not
discover America and was neither a hero nor a role model.
Williams is a registered member of the Comanche tribe of Oklahoma. She says
the various factions of the American Indian community are "ready to move
beyond protesting." Williams said she is talking with government leaders and
studying options for legislation.
"One option is to change the Columbus Day holiday in Colorado," she said,
which could "possibly" involve changing the name. "All Nations Day" has come up
before. Another option is to change the "parade structure" to have an event
"of many cultures." She hopes to engage the people of Colorado "as we look at
the reality that Christopher Columbus did not discover America."
So far, Williams hasn't engaged the Italian-American community, which has
been protective of the annual Columbus Day celebration. Pam Wright, state
president of the Sons of Italy, said, "It's really sad that people have to rain on
somebody's parade. It's a celebration of what our ancestors did."
On Columbus Day, Italian Americans celebrate their heritage and commemorate
the day Columbus landed in the new world in 1492.
Julia C. Martinez ([e-mail]_
(mailto:[e-mail]) ) is a member of the Denver Post editorial board.