Excerpt:
The Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to change Columbus Day to "Indigenous People's Day" on Monday. The name-change was proposed by council member Nadeem Mazen, who told a local radio station that Columbus "was a genocidal figure."
Mazen sits on the board of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and spearheaded the effort to rename Columbus Day, according to local news stations. "Columbus was not a laudable figure. He was a genocidal figure," Mazen said.
Mazen's fellow board members were quick to jump on board with his proposal. Cambridge Vice Mayor Marc McGovern called Columbus "the first person to start the genocide that took place in this part of the world," according to the Boston Globe.