Three years after a Christopher Columbus statue was removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, the bronze cast has re-emerged, this time in a park in Johnston, Rhode Island, about 9 miles west of the capital. The sculpture had been targeted by vandals, at one point being splashed with red paint with a sign reading “Stop celebrating genocide” leaning against its pedestal. In 2020, the statue was removed. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena said residents of his heavily Italian-American town are pleased to give the statue a new home. Critics say the memorial ignores a history of rape, murder and genocide.
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.In this photo provided by Johnston, R.I., Mayor Joseph Polisena, Jr., a statue of Christopher Columbus stands in a park Tuesday, Sept.
“It’s important and not just for Italian Americans. It’s American history. It’s world history, if you look at it from a historical perspective,” he said. The statue — which depicts Columbus pointing forward with his right arm while holding a globe in his left — will be formally unveiled on Monday. “You don’t have to be Indigenous to understand the harm that Christopher Columbus inflicted,” he said. “To see it go back up is really tone deaf to all the progress we made just three years ago.”