Petition Created To Rename Columbus Day In Glen Rock

GLEN ROCK, NJ — A online petition was created to urge local officials to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day.

The author asks people to a sign a petition asking for the change because of various atrocities the person Columbus allegedly committed.

"Christopher Columbus enslaved and murdered the indigenous people he encountered, and sold and gave women away into sexual slavery, which are well documented in contemporaneous writings from the time," the petition reads. "Glen Rock should stop celebrating him each October. The day should be renamed on Glen Rock's calendar."

The author provides a link to an Encyclopedia Britannica article titled "Columbus Day and Its Discontents."

For the second consecutive year, Mayor Bruce Packer and the Borough Council discussed the possibility of renaming Columbus Day. Officials received several emails from residents requesting the change. Another possibility could be to call the day by both names in Glen Rock.

Related: Columbus Day Could Become Indigenous Peoples' Day In Glen Rock

Due to various opinions on the matter, Packer said, the matter was "put on hold" that will continue at a future work session meeting. He supports changing the name.

"With seven states and a growing number of cities, including Newark, enforcing the change, I thought it was important that we respect the wishes of our residents to have this discussion," Packer said in a statement Thursday. "I am proud of the respectful debate that took place at our work session despite differing views on how we should move forward and why."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com