The City Council is considering a proposal to rename the center.įred Conlon, another resident, also wanted the center to keep its name. (Cristian Martinez | Amplify Utah) The Columbus Community Center in South Salt Lake.

“We look at the great things that people did in their past, and that is why we honor them - because they did great things that changed the world,” said resident Austen Gee. The meeting attracted concerned residents. The City Council held its first and, thus far, only discussion of renaming the Columbus Community Center in July. We believe that the center can be more representative.” “So, we want to show the community that we invite to live here that we do believe that. “The city talks about being an inviting and inclusive space,” Lopez said. Census Bureau, South Salt Lake’s percentage of foreign-born residents is 24.6%. “We have refugees and immigrants here from dozens and dozens of countries.”Īccording to the latest data from the U.S. “South Salt Lake is one of the most diverse cities in the whole state,” Lopez said. Lopez said these names are only suggestions, but he noted that the YCC supports a “value based” name rather than naming the center after an individual.

The proposal also lists three potential new names for the center: Amani, the Swahili word for “peace,” bridges and promise. Other groups that wrote letters of support for a name change include the Utah Refugee Connection, United Way of Salt Lake and Catholic Community Services. “When we choose the names of buildings, parks and other community spaces, we are making a public statement about the historical figures we honor and value, and in the process, we may be further silencing already marginalized voices,” wrote Katie Donoviel, the learning center’s executive director, in a letter to Mayor Cherie Wood and the City Council. The English Skills Learning Center, a nonprofit that uses the community center to provide English classes to non-native speakers, was among the supportive organizations. They have the support of 17 organizations in and around South Salt Lake. They provided a finished proposal in April 2021 and outlined the reasons for a name change. France's letter has kickstarted a public process. (Cristian Martinez | Amplify Utah) Jevahjire France, left, and Edward Lopez are pushing South Salt Lake to rename the Columbus Community Center. The Best Buy Teen Tech Center, a Promise SSL project, serves a diverse population, France said, noting he believes the name of the community center should reflect that as well.įollowing France’s letter, the City Council tasked the Youth City Council, a group comprised of local high school students, to come up with a name change proposal.Įdward Lopez, an adviser to the YCC, said that while France’s letter initiated the current process, other members of the community had previously supported changing the center’s name. As a high school student taking part in the robotics team, France formed a connection with Promise SSL, a city initiative that provides community and after-school programs with an academic focus. “As a young immigrant just like many in South Salt Lake, I have always wondered if the members of the council of this city ever question how a young immigrant or refugee feels knowing that he is frequenting a library named after an oppressor not too different from the one(s) they or their parents were fleeing from back home?”įrance, now a student at Salt Lake Community College, moved from Haiti to the United States in 2016 when he was 13. “In all honesty,” France wrote in the letter, “the name of was one that I could never find myself in as a youth.” In August 2020, he wrote a letter to South Salt Lake City Council members asking them to consider a name change. However, France was bothered that the community center is named in honor of Christopher Columbus. That community center - dating back more than 100 years - hosts many of South Salt Lake’s activities and events.

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