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What About The Irish? NYC Schools Get Italian Heritage Day
What About The Irish? NYC Schools Get Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples Day
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is calling upon NYC to designate 17th March, St. Patrick's Day, as Irish Heritage Day, an official school holiday.
Irish Central, 7 MAY 2021.
Should NYC schools get an Irish Heritage holiday? The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) is calling for the change after Columbus Day has been renamed as Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day for New York City schools.
In a tweet on May 4, New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter confirmed that the second Monday in October will no longer be Columbus Day for NYC schools and will instead be Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day.
Danielle Filson, the spokesperson for the NYC Department of Education (DOE), said in a statement: “Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day will celebrate the contributions and legacies of Italian Americans and recognize that Native people are the first inhabitants of the land that became our country.
"By including these holidays on our calendar we are honoring the past, present, and future contributions of Indigenous communities and Italian Americans.”
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, an Italian American, said the process behind the change wasn't handled right, "but the end result is going to be a day to honor Italian American heritage, a day to honor indigenous peoples. I think that's a good way forward.”
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, also of Italian heritage, however, did not agree with the change. He separately said: "You can have an indigenous people's day without intruding on Columbus Day. And that is the spirit of New York. Columbus Day is a day where we celebrate the Italian-American contribution to this state.
“And by the way, it's not either, or. We're not drawing lines and dividing. We're trying to do the opposite. We're the collective. We celebrate all."
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