OCTOBER DIVERSITY MESSAGE

Please take a couple minutes to read this beautiful message written by Ellen Stone and the Diversity Committee

October is: Global Diversity Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Some other important dates:

• Hispanic Heritage month which continues from Sept. 15^th to Oct. 15^th
• October 1^st is: Native American Women’s Equal Pay Day and Oct. 29^th is Latinx Women’s Equal Pay Day.
• October 10^th is World Mental Health Day
• Oct. 11^th is National Coming Out Day, designating the date in 1987 when a gay and lesbian equality march to Washington D.C. took place
• Oct 11^th, 2021, is also a Federal Holiday which is going through some transformation in the way it is being designated and celebrated in this country.  This is the subject of this month’s message.

For years, there have been objections to Columbus Day being a federal holiday due to the exploitative nature of the first European Explorers in America.

Since 2015, the District of Columbia, as well as many other states and localities have attempted to rename Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, to recognize the Indigenous Populations that have been displaced and, otherwise, negatively affected by colonization.

Presently, Oct. 11th, 2021 is still a Federal Holiday, and most banks and federal government facilities are closed. For the past few years, however, there is much more variety in how local and state governments are approaching the holiday. In some cases one holiday is replaced with the other and in other places, both holidays are recognized.

Here are some examples of how state governments have changed their observations through legislation:
In Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and DC, the holiday is named: Indigenous Peoples Day.

In Hawaii, the holiday is named: Discoverers Day, and in South Dakota, since 1990, it is called Native American Day.

In Chicago there is a great resource: The American Indian Center (AIC) which provides information and education about the rich Native American culture and its’ contributions to the US and the world. This month, the AIC is hosting the 68th Annual Chicago Pow Wow on October 8th -10th, 2021. For more information on this and the Centers’ other programs and initiatives, please contact: info@aicchicago.org.