Huntington Beach leadership is ending the city’s current heritage and identity commemorations, such as Women’s History Month, and in their place will create celebrations focused more on the community’s history.
The City Council’s majority on Tuesday night directed city staffers to develop a history program, with monthly themes that include the founding of the city, the discovery of oil and celebrating local libraries. The city in 2024 won’t formally celebrate Black History Month, Women’s History Month or Pride Month.
Previous monthly themes or celebrations will be superseded by the new themes the council put forth.
Some heritage and identity celebrations could be included in future years, said Councilmember Casey McKeon, who was one of the three councilmembers proposing the changes. “Nothing precludes those events from being a part of that future calendar.”
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and councilmembers McKeon and Pat Burns wrote in their report submitting the proposal that it “would be intended to be free of any identity politics and political agendas.”
Themes included by the councilmembers are the founding of Huntington Beach, California history and “what it means to be a charter city,” “We Love Our Libraries,” the discovery of oil in the city, surfing and preserving nature.
Van Der Mark asked for a Holocaust remembrance to be included in the January celebration.
Kathie Schey called the proposal a thinly veiled vote of no confidence in the city’s Historic Resources Board, a committee she chairs, and announced her resignation during public comment.
“God knows I’m all about celebrating history, right?” Schey said. “This is just peculiar, for want of a better word. Both the approach of the plan and the items that are listed here.”
McKeon said Huntington Beach has a rich history that he’s been learning about “and I can only imagine that the majority of our residents are unaware of.” And that, he said, pushed him and his colleagues to develop the 12-month program “designed to honor the rich, historic heritage of not only Huntington Beach, but the United States and California as well.”
“That’s the rich, historic heritage that we all share,” McKeon said.
The council asked for a new committee to be created, made up of seven to nine people, to develop the program for future years starting in 2025. The committee would meet a few times a year and work with the Historic Resources Board.
Councilmember Natalie Moser said this is not the type of thing the council should be focusing on. She said presenting a comprehensive historical narrative is a complex task that involves celebrating triumphs and confronting darker chapters.
“I think that this proposal, while perhaps rooted in good intention, raises fundamental questions about the role of our council and priorities of our city,” Moser said.
Councilmember Tony Strickland said the proposal wasn’t perfect, but felt the intent of it was honorable.
Councilmember Dan Kalmick said a lot of the themes were things that people learn in school and also said it wasn’t something that the council should be focusing on.
“Some of this is not relevant to Huntington Beach,” he said. “Revolutionary War? We weren’t even part of the British territory at the time … I don’t know why there is a rush to implement some of this.”
