This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
Published on June 17, 2020, the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis reignited the movement to re-examine America's historical monuments. In Birmingham, Alabama, a 52-foot Confederate obelisk was dismantled, while in Richmond, Virginia, a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, was toppled.
As cities across the US debate the merits of such monuments, attention has turned to Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who symbolized Italian-American contributions to American history in the late 19th century. However, many now view his arrival as a catalyst for European colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and the genocide and displacement of Indigenous peoples.
From Boston to Miami, Columbus statues have been brought down or defaced by protesters. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, a large Columbus statue was vandalized with red graffiti, while New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo defended a towering monument to the explorer at Columbus Circle in Manhattan.
"I understand the feelings about Christopher Columbus and some of his acts, which nobody would support," Cuomo said. "But the statue has come to represent and signify appreciation for the Italian-American contribution to New York. So for that reason, I support it."
In Philadelphia, supporters went to court to block the removal of a Columbus statue without a public hearing. "You just can't let the mob rule," said George Bochetto, a lawyer who filed the petition for an emergency injunction.
