"I think this day should be a day of education," he says.

With that goal in mind, the Haiti Communications Project has joined with two organizations, the 500 Years is Enough Coalition, and the Committee of 500 Years of Resistance, to "demystify...[and] bring out the truth about Christopher Columbus' voyage," LaFontant says. The groups will bring speakers and performers to Jamaica Plain on Monday to address slave trade, the annihilation of the native American population and the cultural legacy of colonization.

This opposition to Columbus Day has influenced even more traditional commemorative efforts. Ferino acknowledges that the controversy surrounding the Columbus image has shifted, perhaps permanently, the focus of the holiday.

The events sponsored by the state's Quincentennial Commission have so far been more reflective than jubilant; they include lectures and exhibitions on pre-Columbian civilizations and the history of slavery.

City Hall has also been making an effort to keep public school students abreast of the rapidly changing meaning of the Columbus story. Cathy Hoffman, director of the city's Peace Commission, has been working with the city's Multicultural Education Committee to "challenge the notion of Columbus as hero" through curricula and student workshops.

"Our point of view...is that if we let Columbus Day go by without re-looking at it, it means an acceptance of a model of domination, of one culture being able to annihilate other," Hoffman says.

But she says she does not want simply to assign blame to any one culture or group, and is particularly wary of alienating Italian American students. Hoffman says the day should be a celebration and examination of all the diverse cultures.

LaFontant agrees that the holiday can foster co-operation among the groups that make up present-day America.

"If it's just a one-day thing, that would be an exercise in futility," he says. "[But] this dialogue will be a framework for more tolerance...[and] lead to better understanding among all of us."