Cook County commissioner urges pause on changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, reveals he is descended from slaves owned by Choctaw tribe – Chicago Tribune*

That family history would become the impetus for Com. Stanley Moore’s urgent speech during a hearing regarding a bill to replace (Christopher) Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, long a demand of Native American activists. A Chicago resident of Italian descent also testified: “Although we were beaten, lynched, murdered and told ‘no Italians need apply,’ our culture and our mark on this land is significant and important. Columbus Day is our celebration of these tragedies and triumphs.”