The question for debate is not whether we should pull down Columbus’ statue, but whether we should choose to celebrate a villain.

There’s a bag of reasons supporting why Columbus’ #statue should be demolished or pulled down. His statue no longer serves as an embodiment of the “American Dream” but rather venerates his lasting legacy of violence and villainy. That’s not what this country stands for!

As a society we co-exist and share different opinions. Many of us are unaware of Columbus’ background and only know him as the explorer who discovered America. For them, his statue is an embodiment of a great voyager. Those among us with enough cognizance to see both sides of history have reason enough to support the statue’s removal from Schenley Park. 

There’s no benefit in glorifying this guy. The passage of time has brought to light Columbus’ ruthless ways, tyrannical nature, and false claims, creating an outcry amongst people today for stripping this man of the attention and reverie he’s been showered with up until now. He brought this upon himself with the way he treated the natives of the land which later was named America. (Some claim that he explored only the Caribbean islands, Central, and South America). 

Sam Dillon wrote, “Columbus and his men seized Caribbean women as ‘sex slaves’, sent attack dogs to maul naked Indians, and disemboweled other natives who resisted conquest.” in an excerpt from his book, Schools Growing Harsher In Scrutiny of Columbus. His book further reports, “During Columbus’s second voyage, Columbus rounded up 1,500 Arawak Indians and shipped 500 to Spain, where 300 were sold into slavery. The other 200 died along the way.” He has a legacy that’s impossible to be proud of. 

We promote a good life in our social media posts and encourage the best for each other. How can we perpetuate Columbus and his disturbing legacy? Leah Humms, a local social studies teacher asserted, “I cannot for the life of me understand what my students would learn by looking at it (the statue)... It shows Columbus in a very heroic stance and making them think that this was a man that lived a great life and that they should emulate somebody like him in any way.” Leah continued. “They might as well have a statue of Hitler.”

Several excerpts from books that were transcribed from Columbus’ journals and accounts written by historians paint him in an ambiguous light at best. In those excerpts, he was brutal and exploitive, rude towards his crew, and even inspired his own brother to revolt against him.

For Native Americans, the statue of Columbus is nothing short of a representation of “slavery and genocide”. It celebrates brutality, and retention of this statue will only mean perpetuating violent culture.

Columbus has stood as a symbol of Italian-American pride. But was he even Italian? We don’t know! The internet is full of well-researched articles that state Italy was not even in existence in the days of Columbus. 

No, he did not prove the earth was round. Pythagoras and other historians had already written several pieces stating that the earth was spherical, and ironically Columbus even had his copy of Ptolemy’s Geography featuring the same findings before he set sail. Today’s sad reality is that we’ve been celebrating false claims and have been crediting the wrong sources. 

It’s hard to find any reason why Columbus’ statue should be retained in Schenley Park or anywhere else for that matter. He exploited natives and looted people of their worth and pride. Barry Lopez says of Columbus, “his missteps and misconceptions are now sometimes used to portray him as an incompetent oaf”. For over 60 years this statue in Oakland has been attracting undeserved respect. Do we still want this statue?