Some cities are removing Christopher Columbus statues before they can be torn down
Some cities are taking down Christopher Columbus statues in the wake of protests against police brutality.
A bust of Columbus near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in Michigan was taken down and placed in storage, the Detroit Free Press reported. A sign reading “Looter. Rapist. Slave Trader.” was put around the bust’s neck last week.
“The mayor decided it ought to be placed in storage to give us time to evaluate the appropriate long-term disposition of the statue,” John Roach, a spokesman for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s office, told the outlet.
A Columbus statue in Chula Vista, California, was put in storage on Friday before a protest, the Los Angeles Times reported. The city was already in talks about removing the statue before the coronavirus pandemic.
“The statue was removed out of public safety concerns,” the city said in a news release. “The statue was removed and stored early (on the morning of June 12).”
Columbia, South Carolina, also removed a Columbus statue on Friday and placed it into storage, McClatchy News reported.
Mayor Steve Benjamin said the statue had been defaced with paint over the last week, according to the outlet.
Two cities in Connecticut, Middletown and New London, took down their statues last week, NBC Connecticut reported.
Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said it was taken down after getting requests from residents, according to the outlet.
“Of course, there are many in Middletown who want it to stay up, too. To the hundreds of people who were involved in the creation and placement of the statue, it has less to do with the historical figure of Columbus and more to do with their own families’ history in Middletown. I spoke to a number of people on both sides of the issue,” Florsheim said, according to NBC Connecticut.
New London took its statue down on Sunday, according to the outlet.
“I apologize to the press and everyone else who wanted advance notice and to make an event of the removal but under the circumstances I thought it was best to do it quietly and quickly without attracting attention,” Mayor Michael Passero said, according to NBC Connecticut.
A Columbus statue was removed in Boston on Thursday after it was beheaded last week, 10 WJAR reported.
Mayor Marty Walsh said the statue will be in storage and there will be talks on whether it will be permanently removed, according to the outlet.
George Floyd, 46, died while in police custody on May 25 and his death sparked an avalanche of protests across the nation. He died after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, as three other officers didn’t intervene. Floyd was arrested after being accused by a store employee of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes at a Minneapolis grocery store.
A 17-year-old bystander took video of the incident, in which Floyd can be heard saying, “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe.”
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He remains jailed with bail set at $1.25 million.
Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were also fired and arrested, charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Lane was released on Wednesday on bond, according to CNN.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Some cities are removing Christopher Columbus statues before they can be torn down."