Cuomo says Columbus statue should remain
As activists in some cities pull down and damage memorials, the governor voices support for a statue in Manhattan.
ALBANY, N.Y. » As activists in several U.S. cities pull down and damage memorials to Christopher Columbus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo voiced support Thursday for a statue of the explorer in Manhattan.
In recent years, critics who point to evidence of Columbus’ brutality toward indigenous peoples have called for New York City to remove his 70-foottall statue standing atop a column in Columbus Circle.
Some have suggested that New York rename Columbus Day and call it Indigenous People’s Day, arguing that commemorating Columbus glorifies a symbol of genocide and enslavement and glosses over history.
Those calls have been renewed in many cities in the wake of nationwide protests against racism following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Italian American groups, however, have used memorials to Columbus, who was from Genoa, as a way to celebrate their own heritage. The Manhattan statue was put up in 1892 as the Italian
American community attempted to overcome prejudice and assimilate into American society.
Cuomo, who is ItalianAmerican, defended the statue Thursday while saying he understands ongoing dialogue surrounding it.
“I understand the feelings about Christopher Columbus and some of his acts, which nobody would support. But the statue has come to represent and signify appreciation for the Italian-American contribution to New York,” Cuomo said. “So, for that reason, I support it.”
His remark comes amid a growing push for the nation to reconsider who is honored and reckon with oppression and violence committed by national icons.
The colonizer is at times credited with “discovering”
the New World though millions lived there, said Onondaga Nation citizen Betty Lyons, who also leads the American Indian Law Alliance. Columbus never landed on what’s now known as the continental United States and faced accusations of tyranny and enslavement toward the native residents of a Caribbean colony he governed for Spain.