Danvers Considers Changing Name Of Columbus Day

DANVERS, MA — The Danvers Humans Rights and Inclusion Committee may ask selectmen to adopt a policy that would change the name of the Columbus Day Holiday. Members of the committee have been discussing the proposal and consider the name change important, Selectmen David Mills, the selectmen's liaison to the inclusion committee, said at Tuesday's meeting. Mills said the inclusion committee wants the proposal to come before the board at some point.

The state legislature is already considering a proposal to change the name of the holiday statewide. Originally made a holiday to mark the founding of America by Christopher Columbus, the holiday's namesake has become politicized as he has increasingly been seen as a brutal colonizer. Cambridge, Amherst, and Northampton have already changed the name of the holiday at the local level. Last year, North Andover selectmen approved a proposal to mark Columbus Day and Indigenous Persons Day simultaneously.