Columbus Day no longer exists in Barrington.

At the Oct. 3 council meeting, Jacob Brier, Annelise Conway and Carl Kustell voted to change the name of that holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day. Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll and Vice President Rob Humm voted against the change.

Carroll had made a motion to change the name of Columbus Day to Cabrini Day, Mother Cabrini Day or something else to honor the Italian-American heritage. He also suggested the day after Thanksgiving be made into Indigenous Peoples Day in Barrington, but Carroll’s motion failed to gain any support.

Humm suggested the holiday be shared — carrying the title Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day or something similar. He said he was in favor of adding a holiday, but did not like the idea of taking one away.

Humm spoke about the significance of the Columbus Day holiday to Italian-Americans. He said Italian-Americans are a big part of the Barrington community. Humm also said he appreciated the work done by the town’s DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity) Committee regarding the Columbus Day issue, adding that in his mind, inclusiveness also means to include Italian-Americans who are in the local community. 

“I would be very hesitant to take that away from them,” Humm said. 

Carroll opened the discussion over the holiday name change by sharing some background on Christopher Columbus — he said the explorer enslaved people and committed horrific crimes against humanity. But Carroll also said the holiday was an important one for Italian-Americans. He said the first Columbus Day was in 1892, one year after 11 Italian-Americans were lynched in New Orleans, La.

The holiday, Carroll contended, became more about Italian-Americans than about Columbus. Carroll suggested Barrington follow the lead of Colorado, which changed the name of Columbus Day to Cabrini Day, celebrating Frances Xavier Cabrini, who helped Italian immigrants and also established schools and orphanages. Cabrini died in 1917 and was canonized in 1946. 

On Oct. 5, 2020 was the first official Cabrini Day in Colorado — it was the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman in U.S. history. 

Carroll’s suggestion seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as Brier, Conway and Kustell sided with the town’s DEI Committee calling for Columbus Day to be changed to Indigenous Peoples Day. 

Kustell said the history of Columbus is abhorrent, and people should be acknowledging the history of indigenous people. Kustell also voiced opposition to Humm’s idea of a shared holiday. 

“I think combining the holiday … is dividing the holiday against itself,” Kustell said, adding that it would send an extremely mixed message. 

“I would change the name of the holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day exclusively.”

Brier said perspective played a role in the holiday — some people saw it as a celebration of Italian-American heritage, but others did not. Brier said the holiday should be called Indigenous Peoples Day, and suggested the day after Thanksgiving be called Heritage Day and it could serve as an opportunity for people to celebrate their different heritages. 

Conway asked DEI Chairman and council candidate Braxton Medlin to talk about Victory Day. Medlin began to speak about that holiday, referencing work the DEI Committee may do in the future to change that holiday’s name as well. 

After a few minutes, Barrington Town Solicitor Michael Ursillo interrupted and said discussing Victory Day was not on the council agenda. 

Conway then spoke again, stating that at her place of work and at her home, they do not call the holiday Columbus Day, rather Indigenous Peoples Day.

A few minutes later, Brier made a motion to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. The motion passed, 3-2. 

Public comments

The name change discussion drew mixed responses from people at the council meeting.

Leanna Maris and Steven Felix, members of the DEI Committee, spoke in favor of changing the October holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day. 

Others, including Michael Panasuik and Thomas “TR” Rimoshytus, challenged the change. Rimshytus said that if the council was going to create a holiday, it should take another one away. He also questioned how far the name changing would go: Would officials soon change the name of Roger Williams Park Zoo?

“History’s going to be there no matter if it’s good, bad or indifferent,” Rimoshytus said. “We can only make it better going forward.”

Panasuik spoke briefly, and called himself “the lowest of the low.”

“I’m a white, old male,” he said. 

Panasuik said all he hears these days is that as soon as the old guys die, everything will be fine. He said everyone wants to change every holiday… they want to change history. 

Panasuik said he wanted to keep Columbus Day and would also like to keep some of the “old values of America.” He said the council did not need to take a holiday away — they could just add one.