Columbus, Ohio, will no longer have a statue of its namesake outside of City Hall.
Mayor Andrew Ginther announced Thursday that the statue of Christopher Columbus will be taken down immediately and moved into storage as monuments and statues of controversial figures, including Confederate leaders, have faced the chopping block in recent weeks.
“For many people in our community, the statue represents patriarchy, oppression and divisiveness,” Ginther said in a release. “That does not represent our great city, and we will no longer live in the shadow of our ugly past.”
The Democratic mayor said that the figure of Columbus is one that no longer belongs in front of City Hall.
“By replacing the statue, we are removing one more barrier to meaningful and lasting change to end systemic racism,” Ginther said. “Its removal will allow us to remain focused on critical police reforms and increasing equity in housing, health outcomes, education and employment.”
The move comes after Columbus State Community College said this week it would be removing another statue of the Italian explorer at its downtown campus, according to the Associated Press.
“We do not seek to erase history, but to make an intentional shift in what we visibly honor and celebrate as an institution,” said Anthony Joseph, president of the Columbus State Board of Trustees.
In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of Columbus was destroyed and thrown in a lake, and a statue of the historical figure met a similar fate in Minneapolis. In Boston, a statue of his likeness was removed after being beheaded by demonstrators.
Despite calls to do the same in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has resisted a push to remove a statue of Columbus in New York City because of Columbus’s ties to the Italian American community.
“I understand the dialogue that’s been going on for a number of years,” Cuomo said last week. “The Christopher Columbus statue represents, in some ways, the Italian American legacy in this country and the Italian American contribution in this country.”
