Mayor Bill de Blasio says he’ll “definitely” march in New York City’s Columbus Day Parade despite a controversy over statues of the explorer. He recently said he may order the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle.
De Blasio says the Oct. 9 parade is an opportunity to express pride in Italian heritage and contributions.
The national soul-searching over whether to take down monuments to Confederacy leaders has extended to other historical figures.
Activists in New York and elsewhere are targeting statues of Columbus. The explorer is seen as a hero to many for “discovering” the New World, but he’s considered a murderous colonizer to Native Americans and others.
De Blasio has ordered a 90-day review of statues on city property.
According to the Daily News, De Blasio says the commission to review monuments will likely be named “in a matter of days.”
(AP)
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4 Responses
Just remove all statues and replace them with new ones. I’m not generally a proponent of iconoclasm, I just think these statues have to make way for new ones. Of me.
Columbus must have been as bad as the Puerto Rican terrorist in whose parade the dufus mayor marched.
If you want to call someone a doofus, learn to spell it.
> galicianer
The media reports claim that the mayor only agreed to participate in the parade (Puerto Rican Day Parade ) only if Oscar Lopez Rivera was NOT honoured (if unofficially the parade attendees honoured Oscar Lopez Rivera, officially the honour was cancelled before the parade started).