State Democrats are planning to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day as an official holiday in Virginia, and will consider the proposal in January, according to a state delegate.
Democratic Del. Rae Cousins of Richmond announced Saturday she plans to introduce legislation in December to change Indigenous Peoples Day from an observance in Virginia to an official state holiday, Virginia Mercury reported.
It will be the third consecutive year the proposal has been put forth in the state, after Democrats twice failed to gain traction in the legislature.
Cousins declared she is “proud to be working alongside representatives from Virginia’s Indian tribes and indigenous advocates led by The Pocahontas Project” in spearheading the proposal, she said in a Saturday statement.
“I am committed to sharing more honest history, uplifting marginalized communities, and celebrating underrepresented stories, and this legislation is an important next step in that ongoing process,” said Cousins.
A growing movement by Democrats to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day is motivated by the desire to repudiate what they view as Christopher Columbus’ legacy of harm to native peoples and cultures. (RELATED: Virginia National Guard Deployed To Back ICE — Spanberger Calls It ‘Distraction Of Resources’)
Americans who support upholding a holiday in honor of the explorer view him as having laid the groundwork for the country as we know it today, by initiating the permanent transfer of goods, ideas, and peoples from Europe to the Americas as part of the Colombian Exchange.
Among those who have publicly voiced opposition to replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day are President Donald Trump and members of the Knights of Columbus. Trump months ago accused Democrats of attempting to “destroy” Columbus and “all of the Italians that love him so much.”
Republicans in general as well as the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) have also opposed efforts to replace Columbus Day.
“As an organization devoted to the promotion and preservation of Italian American heritage, we support unequivocally maintaining Columbus Day’s status as a federal holiday,” NIAF stated. “We believe that Christopher Columbus’ courageous voyage was the catalyst that initiated over 500 years of immigration to the Americas by people from every corner of the Earth— all of whom were seeking a better life for their families.”
A Pennsylvania court recently struck down former Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s executive order replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day as invalid.
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