Story at a glance
- A decades-old statue of Christopher Columbus has been removed from Bridgeport.
- The explorer represents the U.S.’s problematic history of colonization.
Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, followed national trends in removing its statue of Christopher Columbus from Seaside Park on Monday afternoon.
The Connecticut Post writes that the statue is temporarily relocated to a storage facility until further plans can be made to determine its permanent location.
City spokesperson Rowena White told the Post that the Columbus statue was removed “out of an abundance of caution for preservation of the historic artifact, the need to respond to modern-day sensitivities, as well as public safety at large.”
The removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer credited with “discovering” the Americas that would eventually lead to the countries’ colonization, follows multiple monuments and statues memorializing the U.S.’s racist past being brought down amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests following the police killing of George Floyd.
Bridgeport leaders evidently decided to follow the examples set by San Francisco, Dallas, and Richmond, Va. — all cities who have recently removed monuments of historical figures associated with colonization and racial suppression.
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“We recognize, value, celebrate and support all cultures and ethnicities in our city and we need [to] continue to do so with respect and understanding,” Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said in a statement.
The statue of Columbus had reportedly stood in the seaside town for more than 60 years. The swell of public pressure to remove the monument was a catalyst for its quick removal Monday.
Jorge Cruz, a Bridgeport city council member, has been vocal about his opposition to the monument. He told The Post that Columbus’s arrival, colonization and abuse of Native Puerto Ricans makes the figure an inappropriate display.
“He don’t deserve to be honored with a statue at Seaside Park,” Cruz said. “I’ve had animosity toward that statue for many, many years.”
Other historical monuments considered insensitive to a large part of Connecticut’s population have been removed from towns like Norwalk, New Haven, Middletown and New London.
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