• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • WATCH NEWS
    • WHAT’S ON FOX
  • ABOUT
    • Meet Our Team
      • Our Journalists
      • Sales & Programming
      • Job Openings
    • Contact WSFX
      • Sales & Programming
  • Welcome Home
  • Go With The Pros
  • Medically Speaking
  • Wilmington Eats

Fox Wilmington WSFX-TV

Wilmington, NC | Local news Weather and Sports

  • Local News
    • Unsung Heroes
      • Nominate an Unsung Hero
  • Coronavirus
  • Local Weather
  • National
  • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Panthers Game Schedule
  • Politics
    • NC Voter Information
  • Health
  • MORE…
    • Entertainment
      • What’s on TV?
    • Technology
    • Science
    • Lifestyle
    • What’s Happening Wilmington

DC Council approves ’emergency’ bill to rename Columbus Day ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’

October 10, 2019 By Ronn Blitzer

Washington, D.C. city council members rushed to approve legislation renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” this week before its Oct. 14 commemoration, citing similar moves by several states and a slew of cities in recent years.

The D.C. Council invoked a special provision for emergency legislation Tuesday that allowed the bill’s sponsors to force a vote without the standard process involving committees, multiple votes and congressional approval. Another bill in the works would make the change permanent — the emergency bill will be in effect for “no longer than 90 days” after Mayor Muriel Bowser signs it.

“Columbus Day was officially designated as a federal holiday in 1937 despite the fact that Columbus did not discover North America, despite the fact that millions of people were already living in North America upon his arrival in the Americas, and despite the fact that Columbus never set foot on the shores of the current United States,” at-large Councilmember David Grosso said in a statement Monday. “Columbus enslaved, colonized, mutilated, and massacred thousands of Indigenous People in the Americas.”

OCASIO-CORTEZ PROMOTES DC STATEHOOD, CLAIMS ‘RIGHT TO VOTE IS DENIED’

The temporary provision passed easily with 12 of 13 members voting for it and just one member, Jack Evans, voting present.

Grosso’s Monday statement blamed Council Chairman Phil Mendelson for stalling the legislation for at least five years, “without any public input or hearing,” though Mendelson voted for the emergency bill Tuesday. Curbed D.C. reported that Evans voted present because his Italian American constituents reached out to oppose the move.

Also on Tuesday the body approved a similar “temporary” bill that would last for just over seven months if signed, and passed a resolution declaring the need for the council to rename Columbus Day before Oct. 14 “an emergency.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Columbus Day is in reverence to a divisive figure whose actions against Indigenous People run counter to the values of equality, diversity, and inclusion — values that the District of Columbia has long embodied — and serves only to perpetuate hate and oppression, in contrast to the values the District espouses on a daily basis,” the resolution reads. “The Council acknowledges the negative historic and continuing impacts of European colonization on the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and reaffirms the District’s commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for all.”

Filed Under: Politics

Primary Sidebar

 

Follow Us On Facebook



TRENDING NOW

Here’s your chance to give back on #GivingTuesday

Alabama TikTok star confirms son killed in shooting, calls on followers to find answers

NHC lays out plans for trails and transit improvements in new website

Webb calls out ‘pop culture princess’ AOC over SCOTUS impeachment push: ‘Do your job’

Arizona lawmaker says she armed herself with scissors during riot by abortion protesters

Colin Kaepernick’s agent dismisses Warren Sapp’s criticism of Raiders workout

Footer

PUBLIC FILE INFO

Individuals with disabilities who have questions about the content of our public file or website may contact Isabella Gano by phone at
(910) 343-8826 or by email at Isabella.gano@foxwilmington.com

 
 » WSFX FCC Public File
»EEO Report
»Closed Captioning

 

  • Home
  • WATCH NEWS
    • WHAT’S ON FOX
  • ABOUT
    • Meet Our Team
      • Our Journalists
      • Sales & Programming
      • Job Openings
    • Contact WSFX
      • Sales & Programming
  • Welcome Home
  • Go With The Pros
  • Medically Speaking
  • Wilmington Eats

 

  • Local News
    • Unsung Heroes
      • Nominate an Unsung Hero
  • Coronavirus
  • Local Weather
  • National
  • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Panthers Game Schedule
  • Politics
    • NC Voter Information
  • Health
  • MORE…
    • Entertainment
      • What’s on TV?
    • Technology
    • Science
    • Lifestyle
    • What’s Happening Wilmington

Copyright © 2022 · American Spirit Media LLC · WSFX TV · Wilmington NC · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy