Resident urges Milton School Committee to restore Columbus Day or create an Italian Heritage recognition

During public comment at the Dec. 18 School Committee meeting, resident Rocha Keeney urged the committee to revisit the decision to remove Columbus Day from the district calendar and to either restore Columbus Day or adopt an alternative that recognizes Italian American heritage.

Keeney told the committee she was "profoundly disappointed and frustrated" that Columbus Day was removed "a few years ago without any community input," said she had raised the issue at a subcommittee meeting and was told it would be revisited, and that she had not seen subsequent action. She said the district’s recent survey focused on religious holidays but included a comments field in which she and others had requested restoration and that she felt that request was ignored.

Keeney framed her concern as a cultural-recognition issue: she said Columbus Day honors many Italian Americans who endured discrimination and that replacing the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day without an alternative like an Italian Heritage Day "erases Italian Americans" and sends a message of exclusion. The committee acknowledged the comment and noted the calendar discussion later on the agenda would provide an opportunity to consider the point further; no vote or motion on Columbus Day restoration occurred at the meeting.