Columbus, Ohio removing Christopher Columbus statue at City Hall

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced Thursday that the Christopher Columbus statue on the south side of City Hall will be removed as soon as possible and placed in storage.

The move was hailed by groups that say Columbus statues depict the explorer’s genocidal cleansing of the New World and exploitation of Native people, and opposed by Italian-Americans who say the statues are works of art that forge goodwill and should be preserved.

There also are plans to remove the Christopher Columbus statue outside Columbus State Community College in the Discovery District Downtown. It has twice been vandalized.

A third Columbus statue is at the Statehouse also is under fire with state Rep. Janine Boyd, of Cleveland Heights, grouping it among other “painful reminders of slavery and ethnic genocide,” and calling for its removal.

The 65-year-old City Hall statue is viewed similarly by some.

“I was very pleased to hear about this,” said Kevin Truitt, an attorney with the Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which has supported many of the Black Lives Matter protest organizers. “There have been a lot of people pushing this for years, as a symbol of oppression and racism in front of our city hall.

“Having this monument to this man is troubling to many, especially indigenous people. It’s a great first step.The protests have just started so many great things happening here in Columbus.”

Ginther has called on the Columbus Art Commission to lead an effort to replace the statue with public artwork that better reflects the people of Columbus and offers a shared vision for the future.

“For many people in our community, the statue represents patriarchy, oppression and divisiveness. That does not represent our great city, and we will no longer live in the shadow of our ugly past,” said Ginther said in a news release. “Now is the right time to replace this statue with artwork that demonstrates our enduring fight to end racism and celebrate the themes of diversity and inclusion.”

Joseph Contino, spokesman for the Columbus Piave Club, which promotes Italian heritage and culture, said the explorer’s journal and records have been distorted and misrepresented in popular culture.

“The worst possible translations have always been used for political purposes,” he said. “Columbus was a mover and shaker who traveled with conquistadors ... that found a continent that no one knew existed.”

The club was instrumental in getting the statue from Genoa, Columbus’ sister city, in 1955. “We’ve celebrated it every year with a wreath-laying ceremony.

Columbus City Council issued a statement supporting the removal, “to ensure that new public art at this site and memorials all around our city celebrate the best of us, our cultures and our dreams for the city we are working to build together.”

Bill DeMora, past-president of the Columbus Italian Club, said that several groups and prominent Italian-Americans in the area are working to find new homes for the statues.

The Columbus State depiction, he said, might end up at the group’s clubhouse on West 3rd Avenue in Grandview Heights or any of several prominent Italian churches locally.

“I don’t want to see them demolished, bulldozed over and taken to the landfill and dumped,” said DeMora, who has spoken to city officials about the removal.

“I have been been assured that there will be a permanent new home for both of these on private property.”

The Council statement thanked Genoa, Italy, and pledged to “work together to keep the shared spirit of friendship and culture alive as we consider how best to use this historical figure to educate future generations.”

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board would be responsible for the fate of the Statehouse statue.