Why Is The South Philly Columbus Statue Still There?

Remember when armed bullies were guarding the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza, South Philly during the super angry summer of 2020?

Well, it’s still there.

The idiots with guns have moved on, but the statue remains in Marconi Plaza. The legal battle for its removal is ongoing. 

“The city still intends to move forward with its plan for the relocation of the Christopher Columbus statue.” – Kevin Lessard, Mayor’s Office Communications Director

The 145-year-old Columbus statue was a gift from the Italian government to Philadelphia as a tribute from Italy to America for the Centennial Exposition of 1876. 

Although Spain sponsored Columbus’ expedition, Columbus was Italian. Many Italian-Americans view the explorer as a symbol of Italian-American immigration success. 

Why?

Italians, like many immigrants in this country, experienced violent xenophobia when arriving in the late 1880s. Christopher Columbus, based on what was being taught about him, became a symbol to latch onto. 

Thanks to an effort by an Irish Catholic group, the Knights of Columbus, there was an organized effort to increase the Catholic population in a fairly anti-Catholic country. The Italians were Catholic and therefore embraced by the Knights. So, there was a years-long campaign to erect statues of Christopher Columbus to bond the two groups. 

Columbus Day helped Italian-Americans integrate into American culture, to assimilate. 

Today, Columbus celebrations amongst Italian-Americans are less about him and more about being a proud Italian-American. 

Okay, That’s Fine. But Columbus Didn’t Even Land In America. 

No, he didn’t. Columbus landed in what is now the Bahamas. He named the indigenous people living there “Indians” (literally meaning “People of God” at the time) and enslaved them. Columbus’s journal entry on 12 October 1492 states:

“Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. 

“They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language.”

For the Americas at the time, it was the beginning of European colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, and the onset of genocide. 

Columbus Was NOT A Hero

It was during Columbus’ second voyage in 1493 to the Caribbean that the real crimes began. Columbus and the colonists creating permanent settlements enslaved the indigenous people, including children. They were beaten, raped, tortured, and killed in the name of locating imaginary gold. 

In February 1495, Columbus had suppressed a rebellious group of 1,500 Arawaks. 500 were shipped to Spain as slaves. 40% died en route. 

Future voyages saw Columbus cracking down on native rebellions against the colonists brutally and viciously. Tactics included parading the dismembered bodies through the streets to discourage future protests. 

Again, WHY Do Italian-Americans Defend Columbus So Fiercely? 

Because different generations were taught different things. Many of us today act like the power of the internet existed prior to the internet. 

The Columbus statue should be removed. It’s absurd that over a year later it remains in South Philly, only boarded up. 

But – in the interest of lowering the temperature so idiots with guns don’t show up protecting a stupid statue – we should acknowledge that for generations of Italian-Americans, Columbus was not a genocidal monster, he was a successful Italian immigrant. 

However. 

We now know that Christopher Columbus was indeed a genocidal monster and a cruel man. 
As we learn, we evolve. There’s no logical reason to cling to a Columbus statue any longer. There are people fighting to keep it erect. It’s time the statue is removed, and we move on.