US

‘Reflect The New Reality’: New York City Schools To Get Another Public Holiday

Fireworks explode over the Manhattan skyline in celebration of Diwali, a Hindu festival also known as the festival of lights, on October 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

Fireworks explode over the Manhattan skyline in celebration of Diwali, a Hindu festival also known as the festival of lights, on October 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)

John Oyewale Contributor
Font Size:

New York City will make Diwali a public school holiday following the recent passage of a bill concerning the holiday in the New York State Legislature, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday.

Mayor Adams recognized the efforts of Democratic Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and Democratic Senator Joseph Addabo Jr. in sponsoring the bill at the State Assembly and Senate respectively in his press conference.

“We feel confident that the governor is going to sign this bill into law,” he said, praising the passage of the bill as “a victory, not only from the men and women of the Indian community and all communities that celebrate Diwali, but it’s a victory for New York.” He alluded to the “long fight in pursuit to get Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] a holiday” and the influence India’s Mahatma Gandhi had on King. “Our school calendar must reflect the new reality on the ground. It cannot reflect the absence of those who are not being acknowledged,” he further said. (RELATED: Biden To Ease Restrictions On Migrant Worker Visas In Handout For Indian PM Modi)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaking at a press conference announcing the passage of the Diwali Bill in the State Legislature on Monday June 26, 2023. [YouTube/Screenshot/Public — NYC Mayor's Office]

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaking at a press conference announcing the passage of the Diwali Bill in the State Legislature on Monday June 26, 2023. [YouTube/Screenshot/Public — NYC Mayor’s Office]

Rajkumar, the first Hindu-American and South Asian-American woman elected to state office in New York, introduced the bill to the Assembly on May 10, 2021. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate on June 10, 2023, and is expected to take effect on July 1, 2023.

Rajkumar thanked Mayor Adams, who she said people called “the Hindu mayor,” for “put[ting] the force of his administration behind [the Diwali school holiday cause]” for the “over 600,000 Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain Americans across New York City,” at the press conference. She also thanked New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks for being “a rock-solid partner for the Diwali school holiday whose support for us never wavered.”

Diwali, or the festival of lights, will join celebrations including Rosh Hashana and Lunar New Year as a day off for students, according to The Associated Press (AP). It is a moveable holiday, happening in October or November each year, depending on the lunar calendar. However, as it falls on Sunday, Nov. 12 this year, the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change, per The AP news report.