Opposing views collide over statue
Large gatherings protest, defend Columbus statue
STAMFORD — Loud and impassioned speeches resounded along Main Street on Sunday afternoon, all addressing the question of the day: Should he stay or should he go?
The statue of Christopher Columbus in the little city park that bears his name has become a flashpoint of controversy, amid larger questions about rectifying historical wrongs. The death on May 25 of a Black man, George Floyd, under the knee of a white police officer has triggered a wide-ranging discussion about statues of Confederate war leaders and other symbols of the past, and that discussion could he heard loud and clear in Stamford’s downtown business district.
“I’m a proud Italian American. Why should my heritage be destroyed?”
John Rallo
About 60 people came to to the park to call for the statue’s relocation from the park, and for a replacement to be erected honoring Italian-American heritage instead of the 15th century explorer. Later, a crowd of more than 300 people rallied to support the Columbus statue and leave it as it is.
Steve Cerulli, a college instructor from Stamford who was is the lead organizer for the effort to remove the statue of Columbus, said Italian-American heritage would be better served by a historical figure other than a man he called poor role model in any era.
“What we’re asking Italians in Stamford is to do the right thing,” said Cerulli, who is of Italian ancestry and wore a hat emblazoned with the flag of Italy. Cerulli is calling for the park to renamed for the first Italian-American mayor of Stamford, Bruno Giordano. Cerulli said Columbus, who landed in the western hemisphere under the Spanish flag, was a polarizing figure in his own time and in Italy itself.
Angela Cusicanqui, a resident of Stamford who has indigenous roots in South America, said she associated Columbus with tyranny and genocide.
“Columbus came here with a clear vision — to create a new nation and destroy one that was here,” she said, “This statue is a representation of genocide against native people.”
She said his legacy was not as distant as is often supposed, and “one that doesn’t need to be honored.”
Jere Eaton, a local businesswoman, said there was no intention behind the proposed movement to replace the statue to cause offense to Italian-Americans.
“It’s not the right place for it to be,” she said, “There are many other wonderful Italian-Americans in our city, our state, our nation. By removing it, you’re making the world a better place.”
A petition with some 2,000 signatures has been put forward to remove the statue, which was erected in 1960 by the Stamford chapter of Unico, an ItalianAmerican service organization established in Waterbury in 1922.
Hundreds of supporters also came to the park Sunday to make the case that the name and the statue needed to preserved.
Al Fusco, a Stamford dentist, organized the event in support of the Columbus name, and his group has collected 3,200 names online, plus dozens of other collected in person Sunday.
Recalling the 1992 parade that marked the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the western hemisphere, Fusco said it was a unifying event, as it was intended to be, “a day for all Americans.”
Speaking of the 1992 commemoration which he helped organized, Fusco said, “Every ethnic group was invited to participate, and we all marched together. ... This is personal to me.”
He noted the youth of the protesters against the Columbus statue and suggested they were transient. “We’ve been in this city a long time, and we’re going to be here a long, long time,” he said.
Fusco said Columbus Day was a celebration of “immigration and exploration,” and it would be impossible to celebrate Independence Day without it.
The Stamford dentist said the statue had become a symbol in racial politics, to which he objected.
“How did celebrating Christopher Columbus become a racist thing?” Fusco said.
He said he had been horrified by the video footage of the asphyxiation death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that galvanized a major protest movement.
“Will taking that statue away make anything better? It’s never been the case.” Fusco said. He concluded his unscripted remarks recalling his pledge as an Army officer, to fight against the nation’s enemies, “foreign and domestic,” calling attention to the latter word by repeating the phrase twice.
Many participants wore T-shirts that read “Save Columbus.”
One attendee, John Rallo, said, “I’m a proud ItalianAmerican. Why should my heritage be destroyed?” He said Columbus had flaws and lived in an “age of brutality,” but his heroism stood out throughout the ages and deserved to be honored.
Another local supporter, Mike Battinelli, said, “Tearing down statues does not accomplish anything. All it does is create division.”
After the rally, a short parade of motorcyclists rode down Main Street and gunned their engines.
A statue of Colmbus in Waterbury had its head removed on Saturday, and in New Haven, city authorities removed a 120-year-old Columbus statue from Wooster Square Park. Around the country, there have been acts of vandalism directed at Columbus statues.
City leaders are preparing to debate the question at City Hall in coming days.