Columbus Day Compromise Misses Mark In Melrose, Advocates Say

MELROSE, MA — One step forward, two steps back.

That's how many advocating for the replacement of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day viewed the Melrose School Committee's recent decision to observe both this October. Instead of following the growing number of communities that have eradicated Columbus Day, the committee took the unusual step of co-branding the holiday.

For many who have spent years fighting to blot out the whitewashed legacy of Christopher Columbus, it was received as a painful reminder of his atrocities — a placating half-measure that did little to address the plight suffered by Indigenous peoples.

"While we have no doubt that the decision to celebrate both holidays simultaneously was made with an eye toward inclusivity, the impact is actually more harmful than if the district were to maintain the status quo," the co-founders of Indigenous Peoples' Day Melrose said in a letter to the committee. "With this change, MPS now celebrates a brutal colonizer alongside his victims."

The committee made the addition during a lengthy, controversial Aug. 11 meeting in which the district delayed the start of almost all in-person learning until mid-October. Before the committee discussed the return to learning, it had to approve the school calendar.

That's when Member Jen McAndrew saw her opening to attach two amendments: One recognizing June 19th as Juneteenth, the other adding Indigenous Peoples' Day — both what she called "important" dates the calendar had not featured.

"That didn't seem right to me," McAndrew told Patch. "In proposing to add Indigenous Peoples' Day and Juneteenth to our school calendar, I was hoping to change that. I realize that some see that as too careful a step, wishing instead that we had removed Columbus Day entirely at that meeting rather than adding Indigenous People's Day."

No discussion was had on the calendar amendments, which both passed unanimously.

McAndrew said she expects the issue to come up again, but couldn't reveal how she would vote if it does. She acknowledged hearing the feedback and looks forward to another chance to discuss it.

Mahtowin Munro, lead organizer for Indigenous Peoples' Day Massachusetts, thinks the answer is clear.

"Columbus Day is a white supremacist holiday," Munro told Patch. "Would it be all right to celebrate Hitler Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day in tandem? Or Juneteenth and Slaveowners' Day? Columbus and his men were directly responsible for the genocide of many hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people, and they set the pattern for many who would follow. They enslaved, murdered, starved and tortured countless Indigenous people. This is a matter of historical record, not speculation."

Columbus's standing as a historical figure in America has taken a beating as those sordid details replace his perceived status as brave founder of America, triumphant in his 1492, ocean-blue adventures. Even as many people spent the summer calling for the removal of tributes to Confederate leaders, Columbus hasn't escaped public scrutiny.

In June, an often vandalized Columbus statue was removed from Boston's North End following another beheading. Mayor Marty Walsh said there would be a reexamining of the statue's place in the city.

A handful of other cities — including Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville and Amherst — have pulled the plug on Columbus Day altogether.

In Melrose, the discussion is not currently being had beyond the school district level. Indigenous Peoples' Day Melrose made another push last year, but the then-Board of Aldermen never introduced an order for consideration.

Melrose Historical Commission member Jim Bennett said Indigenous people have been in the city for about 12,000 years. Some significant sites are not publicly disclosed for the state's fear that they may be disturbed.

During last year's push, the Historical Commission, which didn't take an official stance on the issue, implored the board to take up the conversation and "to bear in mind the potential positive impact of commemorating Melrose’s Native history on the future preservation of all periods of our city’s proud history."

Indigenous Peoples' Day Melrose asked for Columbus Day be removed from the school calendar at the Sept. 8 School Committee meeting. The calendar is not on the agenda for Tuesday.