New Haven ponders next step after removing Columbus statue

NEW HAVEN — Wednesday was the Rev. Kelcy G.L. Steele’s birthday and the day’s heated events around the removal of New Haven’s Christopher Columbus statue made it an unusual one.

Steele, the organizer of a new Social Justice Collaborative that aims to combat racism, had not planned to attend a protest.

But then he learned that at Wooster Square Park, some protesters opposed to the Columbus statue’s scheduled removal had yelled racist remarks and cursed at people of color who had come to counter protest.

“Go steal another TV. Burn down another building,” one person yelled at an African American man, according to footage captured by the New Haven Independent.

One statue supporter tried to take the man’s sign, hitting him in the face, the footage shows. The scene drew to the park other counter protesters who wanted to stand with the few that had already arrived, Steele said.

He found chaos.

And so, while the situation eventually calmed down, with antiColumbus activists celebrating a victory when the statue came down that afternoon, much of the morning was exhausting, Steele said.

For the pastor and for others, it was also a reminder of what’s wrong, and how much the city needs to change.

Where do we go

Norm Clement, an indigenous activist in New Haven, said he did not think it was appropriate to talk about healing while there was still so much suffering on both sides.

But he and other leaders and activists did talk about next steps for the city.

Clement pointed, for instance, to this week’s Board of Education vote to rename Columbus School.

Others have called for community dialogues, both about how to respectfully celebrate Italian heritage and about how to combat racism.

“We’re talking about centuries of history that has impacted people’s lives and cultures and identities. There’s not one or two conversations that can ensure that people come to a more common understanding about how to address these issues,” said Mayor Justin Elicker.

“All that being said, I am having conversations with some leaders, specific to [Wednesday], in the Italian community about how we can gather folks together in a way that’s collaborative and allows for listening and mutual understanding with the goal of ensuring that we’re respectfully celebrating Italian heritage,” he said.

The city does not yet have a plan in place to carry out those conversations, the mayor said. Elicker also has said he was disappointed by some of the behavior Wednesday before the statue’s removal, including “some comments that were made that were racist, there were some fights and an individual that was protesting the taking down of the statue hit another man.”

“These things are happening quite quickly, and part of the challenge with Covid is community conversations are just more difficult to organize in a way that’s intimate enough that people can meaningfully share, but also in a way that allows enough community members to participate without risking having some Zoom bombing or real inappropriate behavior,”

Elicker said.

Alder Ellen Cupo, D-8, a district that includes Wooster Square, said she plans to hold public office hours to provide a place for her “constituents to talk.”

She also condemned the racist violence that preceded the statue’s removal.

“As a community, it will take time for us to heal,” she said. “New Haven is a vibrant city of immigrants whose stories should be told and celebrated. I believe real change in our community can come from listening to others with the understanding that all opinions are valuable, so long as they do not oppress other people.”

Mareika Phillips, a statue opponent who is on the committee for New Haven Rising, an organization that seeks racial and economic justice, stood in the park Wednesday with a sign that said, “Would you keep a statue of Hitler?”

From her point of view, moving forward would involve a serious reckoning with the past, as well as reparations, she said.