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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14689 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14689) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 9/12/2022 Report Type: Consent Calendar City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Recommendation from the Human Relations Commission on the naming of the holiday on the second Monday in October From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council consider the Human Relation Commission’s recommendation on the observance of the second Monday in October as both Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day. Background On March 7, 2022, Council considered a Colleagues’ Memo from Vice Mayor Kou and Mayor Burt titled Recognizing Key Dates to Advance Race & Equity in which they recommended the local recognition and celebration of dates of historic significance that provide “an important opportunity to increase community awareness and for us to acknowledge the struggles and accomplishments of groups who have been fundamental to the development of American society.” Formal recognition of the following dates was proposed: • June 19th as “Juneteenth” – Commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. June 19th is recognized as the date when freedom was obtained in the last locations of the south and has become a symbolic date of African American freedom. • May 31st as “Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day” – Paying homage to two key leaders of the United Farm Workers who fought for farm workers’ rights, economic justice, and civil rights. • October 11th as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” – Changing Christopher Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. • Proclaim May as “Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.” During the Council’s discussion, there was general support of the new dates proposed and on changing October 11th (or the date of the second Monday annually in October) from Columbus City of Palo Alto Page 2 Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. However, there was some interest by a member on the City Council to consider the recognition of the second Monday in October as “Italian Immigrant Day” as an option in addition to another option of recognizing it as both “Columbus Day” and “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” as do some states and as President Biden did last year. There was also a discussion on the consideration of other possible dates to recognize such as Holocaust Remembrance Day and Armenian Remembrance Day. As the Human Relations Commission (HRC) has previously played a strong role in engaging on issues related to diversity in the community, it was suggested that the Commission could give helpful input on how the dates identified could be celebrated, the evaluation of the other possible holidays/remembrance days mentioned, and the consideration of the possible re- naming of the October 11th – second Monday in October (currently Columbus Day) Holiday. This direction is included in the motion that passed (7-0) as shown below. MOTION: The City Council voted to formally recognize and celebrate the following dates: A. Juneteenth, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day, and add Indigenous Peoples’ Day as dates of historic significance, and May as Asian American Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month; B. Authorize Proclamations celebrating the above dates; C. Refer to the Human Relations Commission recommendations on how to best recognize and celebrate these dates (ones above); and D. Ask the HRC to evaluate recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Armenian Remembrance Day and evaluate if October 11th should be re-designated as Italian Heritage Day Discussion The HRC discussed the Council referral at its meetings on June 9, 2022 and August 11, 2022 and used as background and discussion guide a report written by Human Services staff. Due to a vacancy on the Commission, there are currently only four members. At both meetings where the Council referral was discussed, three Commissioners were present, with a fourth member absent due to illness; June 9, 2022 (Eberle, Kraus, Smith present) and August 11 (Eberle, Kraus, Savage present). The June meeting was a discussion to review the staff report and ask questions about the referral and motions were entertained at the August 11, 2022 meeting. Specifically, the HRC was asked to consider the following: • How best to recognize and celebrate the holidays listed in the Council motion • Evaluation of the addition of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Armenian Remembrance Day for local recognition • Whether October 11th should be re-designated as Italian Heritage Day City of Palo Alto Page 3 After a time of discussion at the August 11th meeting the Commission was not at the point of making a decision on the Council referral as more background information was forthcoming from a member who was not present. The Commission will discuss the following at their September 8, 2022 meeting; 1) How best to recognize and celebrate the holidays listed in the Council motion and; 2) The evaluation of the addition of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Armenian Remembrance Day for local recognition. The Commission will also consider a framework to present to Council for use when reviewing possible new holidays/observance days in the future. At the August 11th meeting, the Commission did discuss and make a recommendation related to the observance of the second Monday in October. During the discussion, two of the Commissioners present wanted the name of the holiday to be as inclusive as possible. There was a motion made by Vice Chair Eberle to observe the holiday as only Indigenous Peoples’ Day. She stated that Palo Alto Unified School District does not observe the day and that “given the history of this country, it’s overdue to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day”. The motion failed to receive a second. Thereafter, the following motion was made: MOTION: Commissioner Kraus moved, seconded by Commissioner Savage, to recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day in order to be as inclusive as possible. The motion passed 2-1 with Vice Chair Eberle dissenting. Timeline There is no specific timeline as to when this decision needs to be made but as the second Monday in October is soon approaching, staff would like direction as to naming of this holiday for internal documents and external listing of the holiday on city communication channels. Resource Impact There is miminal resource impact in the recommendation to observe the second Monday in October as both Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day. There are internal City documents that would need to be updated to reflect the change, if approved. Policy Implications This recommendation does not represent any change to existing City policies. Stakeholder Engagement The item was discussed at the June 9, 2022 and August 11, 2022 HRC meetings. Agendas are posted online and sent to interested community members via Gov Delivery.