Cambridge Replaces Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples' Day
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – Don't call it "Columbus Day" in Cambridge anymore.
The city council unanimously voted Monday night to change the October holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day."
City Councilor Nadeem Mazen, who spearheaded the effort, said Christopher Columbus didn't discover anything and was a war criminal.
"Columbus was not a laudable figure. He was a genocidal figure," Mazen told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Even local Italian Americans voiced support for his measure, Mazen said. He says the holiday should be a day of mourning and that the American education system needs to depict indigenous history more accurately.
The move in Cambridge comes after voters in Amherst and other communities across the country have adopted similar resolutions.
