Indigenous Peoples' Day event planned for Monday in Baltimore after group holds ceremony at former Columbus statue site

A group including Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott is scheduled to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day outside City Hall Monday, a day after an Italian group held a wreath laying ceremony at the former site of Christopher Columbus statue in Little Italy.

The afternoon celebration comes days after City Council voted to change Monday’s Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples' Day in hopes of formally renaming the holiday ahead of Monday. . However, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young had not decided as of Sunday if he plans to sign the bill.

The city has been at the center of a years-long debate about how to best address the history of Columbus, a 15th century Italian explorer largely depicted in textbooks as having discovered the Americas, but whose legacy has come under scrutiny for how he and his crew treated the native people.

According to the event’s Facebook page, the celebration is scheduled to take place outside City Hall at 100 N. Holliday St. starting at 4 p.m.

Stefanie Mavronis, spokeswoman for Scott, said the council president is scheduled to make an appearance at the event alongside Councilman John Bullock. The National Weather Service is predicting moderate to heavy rain for much of the state into Monday.

The scheduled celebration comes as one of the co-organizers of the annual Columbus Day parade in Little Italy says the group had a scaled back celebration at the site of the former Columbus statue near Little Italy, which was torn from its base and dumped into the Inner Harbor on July 4.

Alfredo Massa, one of the lead organizers of the Columbus Day parade and a former chair of the event, said a group of Italians and other organizations like the Knights of Columbus participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the former statue’s site Sunday morning.

It was a far cry from the vibrant celebration that the city had seen for more than 120 years prior, where Italian-Americans would proudly parade down the streets of Baltimore celebrating their heritage.

However, in the wake of a global pandemic requiring that people limit their exposure to others, Massa said special event permits were hard to come by at city offices.

He said after not hearing back for three weeks in September about permits for a parade, the organizing group decided not to move forward, fearing that any attempt to organize a large group could be shut down.

Massa said that while he understands the controversy around Columbus and his crew he believes Columbus still plays an important role in Italian and American history for his role as an early explorer.

“It’s about what people have in their hearts,” he said, adding he was disappointed by the council’s vote to change Monday to Indigenous Peoples' Day, pointing to the statewide American Indian Heritage Day held every November.

“We still love and respect Columbus," he said.

Maryland recognizes Columbus Day as a statewide holiday, so expect many state and local offices to be closed Monday.

Courts will be closed in Baltimore and in all jurisdictions throughout the state.

In Baltimore, the Department of Public Works' yards and offices will be closed in recognition of the holiday. However, city schools will remain open and the Enoch Pratt Free Library is scheduled to host virtual events on Monday.

For public transit, the Maryland Transit Administration will operate CityLink, LocalLink, Metro SubwayLink, Light RailLink and MobilityLink on a regular weekday schedule with:

MARC Train: Will operate the “R” weekday schedule on all three lines

Commuter Bus: No Service (Bus Route 201 will operate on a Weekend/Holiday schedule)

Mobility Call Center: Regular Hours – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mobility Certification Office: Closed

Transit Information Contact Center: Open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mondawmin Customer Service Center Booth: Open 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

MTA Transit Store: Closed

Certification Office at 6 St. Paul Street: Closed

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