Will removing the statue of #Columbus improve the racism situation America is facing? Not at all. The statue should stay.
Calls have been made across the nation to remove statues of historical figures who are associated with racism and slavery. Now the statue of Columbus in Schenley Park awaits a similar fate. Americans have always stood against racism, and that shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Countless young men died fighting against slavery during the American Civil War. Our very country is defined by the extraordinary ideal of combining people from all different backgrounds and building a cohesive future together. It has certainly not been without its mistakes.
Groups have emerged that support the plea to have the Columbus statue removed. It's like they have just suddenly realized that he wasn't a perfect human. But how can we justify attaching others' crimes to him? He did not manufacture smallpox as a biological weapon. He also can't be held responsible for every European's actions in America, any more than a parent can be held accountable for the actions of their grown children.
Columbus arriving in America occurred before the mass genocide of Native American tribes. This is indisputable. But just because it happened after he arrived does not mean that it was all his doing. Many have dedicated their studies to discrediting his skills as a navigator. It’s sardonically disheartening that people are ignorant enough to speak against all the great accomplishments that he made over 500 years ago. As the first European explorer to reach the New World, he left a lasting legacy. Children grow up reading books and stories about him, his thirst for knowledge and drive as an explorer. He is an imperfect figure but one who is very important to our nation's history, so why should we want to remove his statue? T
The people voting to get the statue are likely unaware (perhaps intentionally so) of the reason behind why the statue was erected in the first place. The monument was built by Frank Vittor in 1958 as an offering to the city’s Italian community. The statue was intended to serve as a memorial and reminder for the 11 Italians whose lives were lost in a mass lynching in 1891, the biggest lynching in U.S. history.
As long as we are focusing on the forgotten victims of history, here are the names of the 11: Antonio Bagnetto, James Caruso, Loreto Comitz, Rocco Geraci, Joseph Macheca, Antonio Marchesi, Pietro Monasterio, Emmanuele Polizzi, Frank Romero, Antonio Scaffidi, and Charles Traina.
Besides symbolizing a celebration of Columbus himself, the statue serves as an homage to the Italian-American community and their people’s contributions to society. The removal of the Columbus statue would disrespect the community it was meant to honor, and also serve to discredit the contributions of the Italian-American community to the city of Pittsburg.
“The removal or altering of this statue of Christopher Columbus is a direct attack on the proud heritage and ancestry of Italians and Americans of Italian descent, and a slap in the face to their many monumental contributions to the United States,” said Jondavid Longo, Mayor of Slippery Rock.
Neither Columbus, nor his statue, deserves this treatment. He was a great explorer, navigator, and colonist who initiated voyages that established contacts between the Old and New Worlds. He led the first expedition to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, taking huge steps to change the face of mankind we proudly stand as a part of today. It has become so easy for people to ignore those achievements, but at what cost to our country's heritage?
Those who serve to discredit Columbus should remember that he found America independently. Though he was not the first to discover the land, it was his expedition that changed the face of history by initiating a relationship between Europeans and the New World. He made immigration possible for Spain. His expedition had a lasting effect, establishing contact between the Western and Eastern hemispheres. He made the exchange of goods between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas possible, utilizing a widespread exchange of animals, plants, human populations, technology, and ideas. Scholars and children alike study him for a reason!
Columbus' statue is a symbol of history, and it needs to stay right where it is.
