Topline Public school students in New York City will not celebrate Columbus Day this year, the city’s Department of Education said Tuesday, making the Big Apple the latest city to back away from honoring Christopher Columbus — but amid criticism from some New Yorkers, the nation’s largest school district promised a combined mid-October holiday called “Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day.” A statue of Christopher Columbus is pictured on July 9, 2020 in Astoria, in the Queens borough of … [+] New York City. AFP via Getty Images Key Facts New York City public schools will still close on the second Monday in October, as it long has for Columbus Day, but the day has been renamed Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day in the calendar for the upcoming school year that the DoE released Tuesday. When the calendar was initially put out, it referred to the date solely as Indigenous People’s Day, local outlets NY1 and Gothamist reported, angering some local politicians who called the name change insulting to Italian Americans. DoE spokesperson Danielle Filson told Forbes the new, expanded name is designed to recognize both… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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