New Jersey Town Rejects Request To Rename Columbus Day To Honor Native Americans

GLEN ROCK, N.J. (CBS/AP) — A Bergen County community has rejected a request to rename Columbus Day to honor Native Americans. In a unanimous vote Wednesday night, the Glen Rock Borough Council turned down a request to make the holiday Indigenous Peoples Day.

The vote culminated an extended debate over the proposal.

The council initially discussed the matter at its April 24 meeting, but delayed a decision then so they could get more community input. An overflow crowd then turned out Wednesday.

Those opposed to the change included Italian-American groups who said the proposal was based on "propaganda" instead of facts. Proponents say the explorer should not be honored because he did "terrible things to human beings."

Demands to do away with Columbus Day date to the 1970s. Native American tribes are pressing for the change, pointing to atrocities they suffered.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)