Two Columbus statues were saved in Connecticut over the past two months, one in Waterbury and one in New Britain, as city leaders and voters pushed back against protestors who demanded their removal.
In November, 60 percent of Waterbury’s voters (more than 17,000 people) cast ballots to keep the 12-foot, 6-ton statue — located near the town’s city hall — in place, according to rep-am.com.
In early December, sculptor Randall Nelson repaired the statue months after the head had been allegedly knocked off by a protestor, Brandon Ambrose.
Ambrose, of New York, was arrested days after the crime, and he’s due in court early next year.
Decapitated in July, Waterbury’s Christopher Columbus statue is restored https://t.co/IvCKm6ATTi via @rep_am
— Anne Karolyi (@AnneKarolyi) December 3, 2020
New Britain Mayor Takes a Stand
Meanwhile, just this past week, New Britain’s Mayor, Erin Stewart, overturned a council decision to remove the city’s statue.
In a statement condemning “cancel culture,” Stewart warned taking down the monument would set a bad precedent, according to the Hartford Courant.
“Where does it end?” she wrote in a letter to council. “Are we going to examine the battlefield tactics of generals Kosciuszko or Pulaski to ensure they adhered to the social mores of today?”
Local lawmakers are working to override Stewart’s decision, but that could prove to be an uphill battle.
Other legal fights are still unfolding.
In Pittsburgh, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America legal team, led by ISDA President Basil M. Russo, has temporarily blocked Mayor Bill Peduto from removing a 50-foot Columbus statue that was built in 1958 with thousands of donations collected over several years (The legal battle is ongoing, and we’ll provide updates as they become available).
Our History
Columbus Day has become synonymous with Italian Heritage Day, the time when we remember the sacrifices made by our parents and grandparents, and the contributions Italian Americans have made in the U.S.
The time-honored Columbus Day parades began in the late 1800s as Italian immigrants attempted to create a sense of self-esteem and dignity during a period where they were subjected to lynchings, bigotry and prejudice throughout the country.
Columbus’s journey launched 500 years of immigration to America, attracting peoples from throughout the world seeking a better life for their families — this is the spirit we champion and are fighting to preserve, and this is what the Columbus statues stand for.
Our Stance
The Italian-American community has always supported the designation of an Indigenous Peoples Day as it is most rightly and most justly deserved, and we fully support peaceful racial justice protests that push for equality in the U.S.
What we won’t tolerate is the agenda of those who want to rewrite our history, and in the process, diminish our traditions by targeting the 15th century explorer.
View the new documentary film, Courage and Conviction: The True Story of Christopher Columbus, here:
