The Sag Harbor School Board on Monday opened a discussion of recognizing Juneteenth on the school calendar and renaming Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day. Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 each year to mark the day that the last enslaved people were freed in post-Civil War Texas in 1865. New York State passed legislation to officially recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.
A dozen states and many municipalities and school districts have renamed Columbus Day on their calendars to recognize the struggles that Indigenous people experienced during the colonial era. Doing so would be "a great way to create a more well-rounded and meaningful" opportunity for teaching history, Jordana Sobey, the school board president, said, adding that board members have received letters from community members and parents expressing support for the changes.
A lively discussion ensued. "Juneteenth is a fairly straightforward issue. Freedom is a bedrock of our democracy," said Jeff Nichols, the district superintendent. "For me, that's a more clear-cut situation where I would endorse naming that as a holiday. Columbus Day is more complicated."
The school board informally agreed that it would convene a committee — one that includes students as well as parents, educators, and community members — to discuss the two holidays. School officials said the committee should make a recommendation in January, ahead of the school calendar approval that typically happens in February.