Create task force to openly discuss S.J.’s Fallon statue
In recent weeks there has once again been considerable discussion about events that shape our heritage. This debate has now reached the level of damaging community art and demanding that reminders of our Californio heritage be removed from public view.
This time the equestrian sculpture celebrating California statehood is the target; in recent years the Veterans War Memorial was damaged by protesters. As the result of the repeated damage and ongoing threats, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has sent an official memorandum to the Office of Cultural Affairs, requesting that the city begin the formal process of “deaccessioning” the art piece, commonly referred to as the “Fallon statue.”
Deaccession will be a timeconsuming process and can be quite expensive, almost as expensive as creating and placing a piece of public art. The statue was originally designed to support San Jose’s identity as the location of California statehood when America became a nation with two coasts. The equestrian sculpture was placed around 2002, one of a collection of San Jose art pieces celebrating Pueblo Uno, agricultural heritage, the work of Ernesto Galarza and our Fondadores.
Liccardo has also been a recent target of damage related to the statue controversy as protesters painted his home with graffiti and gleefully filmed themselves in the act. They invited some of the local media and posted pictures of themselves doing the damage. Fortunately the Liccardo family was away at the time. Horrified neighbors showed up the next day to repair the defacement of the Liccardo home.
The California Pioneers of Santa Clara Valley have responded to the recent destruction and assault on our heritage. They have sent a request to the City Council to consider this an opportunity for public discussion. The membership of the Pioneers includes the descendents of Ohlone, Spanish, Mexican, Chilean and various Yankee pioneers. Founded in 1875, they proudly celebrate our Californio heritage and have collected documentation and artifacts about our valley for decades. The Pioneers currently operate two museums in San Jose, the Roberto Adobe on Lincoln Avenue and their home at the Paulson House within History San Jose.
The Pioneers feel the controversy presents a teaching moment, an opportunity to explore our local history and perhaps come to understanding and consensus. They feel removing the statue would remove the opportunity to tell the many stories it might represent. While some members of the public have asserted the statue should be removed because it represents oppression and genocide, the Pioneers respond that any possible acts of cruelty and domination need to be addressed and expiated, not ignored.
The city of San Jose is Pueblo Uno, the oldest civil settlement on the west coast of America. Visitors frequently ask, “Where did California start?” We have only one very small adobe remaining from our early years as El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe to share with them. The Pioneers are proud to be Californios, residents whose heritage includes all groups. We embrace newcomers, those who seek their fortune in this proud land. Mi casa es su casa is our welcome. A public discussion of the history inspiring this sculpture provides an opportunity to not only share our history with newcomers, it offers all of us a chance to reflect. A better understanding of our past can open the path to awareness and forgiveness, especially since we cannot change past events.
We strongly suggest the San Jose City Council initiate a task force of recognized historians to open discussion and move Pueblo Uno into reconciliation, understanding and peace.