Columbus, Ohio doesn't observe Columbus Day
Ohio capital opts not to recognize namesake holiday.
Columbus, Ohio — the midwestern American city named after Christopher Columbus — is not celebrating the famed explorer's federally recognized holiday, and will instead honor military veterans in its place.
The city has observed Columbus Day probably "for as long as it had been in existence," a spokesperson for Mayor Andrew Ginther told The Associated Press. But this year, the capital city's offices will remain open, and instead close on Veterans Day, which falls on Nov. 12.
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The mayor's office said the decision wasn't made because many U.S. cities are replacing their observance of Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day, but rather because the city doesn't have the budget to give its 8,500 employees off on both that and Veterans Day.
"We have a number of veterans who work for the city, and there are so many here in Columbus," Davis said. "We thought it was important to honor them with that day off."
The celebration of Columbus Day, held on the second Monday of every October, has become growingly contested in recent years, with more U.S. cities choosing to honor the nation's indigenous people with their own day, which has been recognized by the United Nations since 1994.
The explorer's history has been divisive as some historians claim Columbus committed atrocities against the Native Americans he encountered as he came to America.
Tyrone Smith, the director of the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio, said the city's move to not celebrate Columbus Day is "a victory for everyone."
"The past is the past. It may not be pretty at times, but we cannot hold what happened back then against today's society, regardless their bloodline," he said. "The fact that the city of Columbus is taking action is a victory for everyone."
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But Joseph Contino, an organizer of the city's 39-year-old Columbus Italian Festival, which is typically held on Columbus Day weekend, blamed the move on what he said is a politically correct culture.
"It's very in vogue politically right now to do that. It's not PC for me to say anything against indigenous peoples," he said. "You can kick Christians, you can kick Catholics. That's the message that it sends to us and that's what it feels like; we're Europeans and we lop Indians' heads off. Which is just not true."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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