Name: Hartford and New Haven will remove statues honoring Christopher Columbus
Brand: courant.com
SKU: courant-com-39
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Hartford and New Haven will remove statues honoring Christopher Columbus

preview

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJun 16, 2020 at 8:11 pmNew Haven and Hartford became the latest Connecticut cities Monday to say they would remove statues honoring Christopher Columbus from public property.Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said in a statement released by his office Monday evening that a Columbus statue near the state Capitol would be “removed from city property.”Advertisement“When the statue of Columbus was erected in Hartford a hundred years ago, it was meant to symbolize the fact that Italian Americans, who had faced intense discrimination, had a place in the American story. But surely we can find a better way to honor the immense contributions of the Italian American community in our country and in our community,” Bronin said. “I’ll also be working with our Italian American community in Hartford and throughout the region to find an appropriate way to honor their incredibly important place in Hartford’s and our nation’s history.”The cities of New London and Middletown have already removed statues of Columbus, which, along with other statues around the country, have become emotional symbols of slavery and exploitation.Advertisement“The Christopher Columbus statue for many Italians is a celebration of Italian heritage,” Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement released by his office. “But the statue of Christopher Columbus also represents a time of colonialism and atrocities committed. It is the right decision to remove the statue. After the statue is removed, I believe it is important that we, as a community, have a conversation about how to best honor the heritage of so many Italians who have made New Haven their home.”Community leaders in New Haven called for removal of the statue, which is located in the city’s historic Wooster Square neighborhood.“We hope that the statue will end up ... in a museum or a university where it can be the subject of learning and conversation about history and how our interpretation of the value of a public figure can change over time,” said Frank Carrano, the Wooster Square historian. “It’s a decision we made rather than have the statue ripped off its pedestal or beheaded. That’s also important, that we made the decision and we’re going to decide what happens next.”Columbus statues across Connecticut were typically erected by Italian-American organizations. That was the case in New Haven, where the statue in Wooster Square was put up in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage west.Given the fuller context of Columbus’ record, and what has gone on around the nation in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, New Haven community leaders came together and called for the removal, Carrano said. Among them were people with strong ties to the Italian-American community, but who also recognized that people who represent a dark time in U.S. history should perhaps not be honored.“For a long time there was this sort of monolithic narrative of American history that was taught that left tons of groups out,” said Matt Warshauer, a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University. That was challenged in the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of the civil rights movement.There were other groups — ethnic, gender, religious — that played important roles in history and they wanted their stories to be told.“Taking down of statues, be they confederate or Columbus, it’s all about exerting your right and your culture to be recognized,” Warshauer said.AdvertisementWarshauer opposes removal of statues and other historical markers. He says those seeking to remove statutes have on opportunity to change the narrative of hegemony by not seeking to assert control over others as it was over them.“What we actually need to be seeking is harmony and not hegemony,” he said.With Columbus and other figures throughout history, there are seldom simple answers, Warshauer said.“Do we want to write Columbus out of the history books in terms of the grit and determination and courage it took to decide to sail west,” Warshauer asked. “This literally was the era of conquest. Unless we’re going to completely rewrite history, how do we not recognize that? How do you not look at it in the context it existed? That’s the key."In Middletown, Mayor Ben Florsheim took to social media Sunday to explain the removal of the Columbus statue in Harbor Park. The statue was to be temporarily removed to make way for construction, he said, but there is now discussion about whether the statue should be displayed in a public park going forward.“The fraught debate over Christopher Columbus’s legacy is one that’s important to have in Middletown (and everywhere),” Florsheim wrote on Facebook. “Like the decision about naming the new middle school, or the acknowledgement of Middletown’s historical role in the slave trade, it is something that will be contentious and will sometimes lead to irreconcilable disagreement. But I am convinced (as always) that in Middletown there is no issue that we cannot resolve peacefully as a community.”AdvertisementIn New London, a Columbus statue at Blank and Blinman streets was removed Sunday after it had been defaced several times. Mayor Michael Passero told the Day of New London he feared the statue would be permanently damaged or destroyed if left up.Although Columbus’ legacy has been turned upside down in recent decades, Columbus Day remains a federal holiday and a state holiday in Connecticut.DailyWe're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. &gt; Advertisement Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantJun 16, 2020 at 8:11 pmNew Haven and Hartford became the latest Connecticut cities Monday to say they would remove statues honoring Christopher Columbus from public property.Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said in a statement released by his office Monday evening that a Columbus statue near the state Capitol would be “removed from city property.”Advertisement“When the statue of Columbus was erected in Hartford a hundred years ago, it was meant to symbolize the fact that Italian Americans, who had faced intense discrimination, had a place in the American story. But...

Hartford and New Haven will remove statues honoring Christopher Columbus

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS