Portsmouth NH school district forms Equity Council for social justice seacoastonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from seacoastonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PORTSMOUTH After a passionate plea from high school students to make a change, the City Council narrowly voted Monday to reject permanently placing Indigenous Peoples Day on the city calendar alongside Columbus Day.
Councilor Cliff Lazenby made a motion for the city to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day “instead of what has been typically designated by the state of New Hampshire as Columbus Day.
Councilor Petra Huda moved to amend the motion to give residents the choice to recognize either Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day “until such time as the state and federal laws recognize the need for change or elimination of the current name.” That was later amended to permanently recognize both holidays alongside each other. It failed in a 5-4 vote.
‘It’s about time’: Teens’ push for Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Portsmouth is back
Portsmouth High School members of the We Speak social justice group, from left, Aulia Castellano, Ruby Palen-Hackett, Arden Griffin, Natalie Devito and Harini Subramanian are calling on the city council to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous’ People Day. RICH BEAUCHESNE / Portsmouth Herald
Published: 5/18/2021 3:19:37 PM
Social justice-seeking high schoolers are again asking city councilors to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day permanently in place of Columbus Day.
The council is set to hold a public hearing Monday night, when members of We Speak, Portsmouth High School’s social justice club, will advocate for the change after first introducing it in the fall, said PHS junior and We Speak member Harini Subramanian.