As Cal City News reported last month, the Huntington Beach City Council recently voted to rescind the city’s celebration of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and other cultural observances. Instead, the city council will adopt a 12-month celebratory history schedule developed by a panel of appointed members, which would be “free of any identity politics,” per the staff report.
However, a calendar of celebrations for the first quarter of 2024 has now been released by Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Carey. In addition to new observances like “Founders’ Legacy — Celebrating Huntington Beach’s Origins,” the calendar includes Black History Month and Women’s History Month. It appears these months will be formally recognized in Surf City after all.
Did the council backtrack?
According to Councilmember Casey McKeon, who authored the original item, these celebrations were never going to be removed. He says the item was “misrepresented.” That is contradicted by the report, which calls for repealing any previously approved themes/celebrations but specifically advises the city to “continue to engage in scheduled monthly celebrations that promote public safety and health” like Distracted Driving Awareness and Breast Cancer Awareness. This portion notably omits anything about continued celebrations of African Americans, women, or anything unrelated to health and safety.
McKeon’s claim that the item was misrepresented is also contradicted by his own statements during the meeting, which you can watch here.
“The video’s clear, the action agenda is clear. We explicitly asked, ‘Are we going to be celebrating this anymore?’ and they said, ‘No,’” said Kalmick. “We asked [McKeon] four different ways, ‘Does this mean we’re not going to celebrate this?’”
After the item was passed on Dec. 19, there was major backlash. It’s not clear whether all of the other celebratory months will return or whether some will be removed.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.