The statue of the explorer Christopher Columbus will be removed from the city to which he named, Colombo, in the North American state of Ohio, announced today the mayor, Andrew Ginther.
The statue located in the City Hall will be removed immediately and stored.
This shift is taking place as monuments of the Confederacy and other historical figures who have repressed or oppressed other people are being dismantled all over the United States.
“For many people in our community, the statue represents patriarchy, oppression and division. This does not represent our big city and we will no longer live in the shadow of our ugly past, ”said Ginther, in a statement.
Christopher Columbus’ statues have been the preferred target, among others, of anti-racism demonstrations, having already been vandalized in several cities, such as Saint Paul, in the state of Minnesota, in Richmond, Virginia, and in Boston, where the head of a the explorer’s statue was removed and broken.
Anti-racist protests across the country were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, on May 25, in Minneapolis (Minnesota), by a white police officer who pressed his knee with his neck for about eight minutes in a detention operation, although Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.
