Only seven of nation’s 100 biggest school districts celebrate Columbus Day: Report
Jeremiah Poff
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Less than 10% of the nation’s largest school districts continue to commemorate Columbus Day, a new report found.
The report from the Young America’s Foundation found that only seven of the nation’s 100 largest school districts still observe Columbus Day, while 19 mark the holiday as “Indigenous People’s Day.” The vast majority of districts do not observe either.
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Critics of the holiday have long regarded Christopher Columbus as the archetypal figure of an era of European exploration that was guilty of enslaving Africans and murdering Native Americans. But defenders of Columbus, especially in the Italian American community, celebrate his daring exploration into what was then an unknown part of the world to Europeans.
Michael McGonigle, a spokesman for the Young America’s Foundation, told the Washington Examiner in a statement that people should recall the “transformational” nature of Columbus’s expedition.
“Through his exploration, Christopher Columbus began a new chapter of our history,” he said. “Those who seek to erase it would be wise to remember his discovery marked a transformational moment for America and the world.”
The list of school districts that still commemorate the Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 includes several city school districts in deep Democratic areas.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools, which includes the city of Annapolis, Maryland, is one of the districts that commemorates the first European explorer to set foot on the continent, as is District of Columbia Public Schools. Fulton County Schools in Atlanta also commemorates the day.
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Three school districts in Texas still commemorate the holiday: Fort Bend Independent School District, Katy Independent School District, and Klein Independent School District.
And on the island of Puerto Rico, not far from where Columbus first set foot on North American soil, the holiday is celebrated in schools.