Allan Appel Photo
Columbus statue: On its way out of the park.
Cross student Rhea McTiernan Huge.
The latest evidence that young people are bringing swift change to New Haven and to America: Italian-American leaders are joining with anti-racism activists to call for the removal of the iconic Christopher Columbus statue from Wooster Square Park.
A Wooster Square teen put the change in motion.
Her name is Rhea McTiernan Huge. She is a rising Wilbur Cross High School junior. She grew up in Wooster Square — historically the heart of New Haven’s Italian-American community, which retains that identity even as the actual neighborhood has undergone significant demographic change.
Amid nationwide protests about racial discrimination and calls to remove statues of historical figures with racist pasts, McTiernan Huge started a petition drive to have the Columbus statue removed. (Further down in the story is an article she wrote about why.) It was the first of two petitions circulated in the past week to build support for removing the statue.
And a surprising thing happened: Not only did activists long opposed to honoring Columbus sign it. Leaders of Italian-American groups that have long honored Columbus also signed it. Over 1,500 people in all have signed the petitions.
The city owns the statue. Mayor Justin Elicker Monday called the upcoming removal of the statue “the right decision.”
(Update: The Parks Commission decided unanimously Wednesday night to remove the statue from the park. Details in this story.)
“The Christopher Columbus statue for many Italians is a celebration of Italian heritage. But the statue of Christopher Columbus also represents a time of colonialism and atrocities committed,” Elicker stated in a release.
“Planning is underway,” mayoral spokesperson Gage Frank said when asked about when the city will remove the statue. “We don’t really have a timeline right now.”
One Native American New Havener, Ricky Looking Crow (pictured with fellow Native American activist Norm Clement), welcomed the news.
“It represents 100 years of genocide to my people,” he said. “It’s about time it comes down.”
Wooster Square leaders issued a public statement Monday calling for the removal. The signatories include Saint Andrew the Apostle Society President Frank Gargano, St. Catello Society President Paul J. Criscuolo, Democratic Town Chair Vin Mauro Jr., Wooster Square Alder Ellen Cupo, and retired labor labor and Wooster Square historian Frank Carrano.
“In the midst of this historic moment, the most important thing each of us can do is listen. We should listen first and foremost to those people who have been personally impacted by systemic and historic racism in our country, and especially in our criminal justice system. We should listen broadly about their life experiences and treatment, and also more specifically about what steps must be taken to fully meet this moment so that we can build a better and fairer society,” the letter read.
“Here in New Haven, one of those specific concerns involves the Christopher Columbus statue at Wooster Square. Many of our community members understandably view this statue as a representation of injustice, and as a reminder of the mistreatment of immigrants and people of color going back to the founding of our nation.”
Frank Carrano’s parents were among the waves of immigrants from Amalfi, Italy, who settled in Wooster Square and forged the neighborhood its Italian-American identity.
Carrano (pictured in above video) said the rapid consensus in recent days around removing the statue “says a lot about New Haven in 2020. It means we have a lot to be proud of.”
Carrano said he hopes the statue finds a new home in a university museum where it “can be a subject of discovery and learning.” He noted that Columbus has long been a “source of pride” for local Italian-Americans. “We have to be willing to rethink the things we thought we knew.”
Following is Rhea McTiernan Huge’s write-up about why she launched the petition drive:
“Long Overdue Examination Of Racism”
Wooster Square Park’s Christopher Columbus statue.
I learned to bike in the shadow of Wooster Square’s Christopher Columbus statue. As I have grown up, my feelings have turned from pride to a certainty that this statue and the dark history behind it do not belong here.
I grew up in Wooster Square and spent many hours in the park. Every year my mom photographs me and my sister when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Wooster Square is a wonderful neighborhood.
In second grade, we took a field trip to Wooster Square Park to learn about Columbus. At the time, I was proud that this statue resided so close to my home. I knew nothing about him except for the phrase taught to schoolchildren — “In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” — and the idea that he had “discovered” the Americas.
What schools do not teach children is his cruelty. He and his crew murdered millions, decimating the Taino population of the Caribbean islands from 8 million to only 100,000 between the years of 1493 and 1504. His own crew members spoke of his brutality. Bartolomé de las Casas, who accompanied Columbus, witnessed the rape and pillage and wrote, “My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.”
I understand that Columbus is a source of pride for many Italians in the community, but I don’t believe that we should celebrate him. During his own time, Columbus was arrested for crimes against the populations of the Americas. There were 23 testimonies against him, and he himself confessed. It was not considered normal to pillage and rape then either, and the king and queen of Spain had ordered him not to harm native inhabitants. Columbus killed people on his own volition, and he was punished for it. I don’t believe we should continue to commemorate a man so guilty of genocide and other atrocities.
With the long overdue examination of racism in this country and our nation’s problematic past, now is the time to think about our own space in New Haven.
Wooster Square Park isn’t just a space for people to go to hang out — it’s a site used for community gatherings and celebrations. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival attracts people from all over. Having a statue of a man who hurt so many be seen by so many is extremely harmful. I think that removing this statue will allow the park to become a safer place for everyone. I am happy to say that these thoughts have sparked a community discussion, including proposals to put the statue into a museum, so that those who so choose can see it and educate themselves. I fully support this.
The Columbus statue has stood in the park for over a hundred years, and I think it is time to see it go. I hope for a more welcoming community space in my neighborhood.
If you want to support the removal of this statue, please sign here.
For a fuller account of Christopher Columbus’s crimes, click here.