The consensus among members is we wanted to be really adamant about the retention of Columbus Day with no room for negotiations. It's unfortunate because I was hoping we could all remain together as a caucus, but his saying he's still open to the idea . . . disqualifies him.
The vast majority of Italian-Americans have been using this holiday to celebrate the countless contributions Italians have made to this country, not to venerate any one person, and particularly not to venerate violence towards Indigenous people.
I believe Indigenous people deserve their own holiday, but opposed replacing Columbus Day with a holiday called 'Indigenous Peoples Day' because it would only stir animosity between Italian-Americans and Indigenous people.
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