ALBANY, N.Y. – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday pledged support for allowing a statue of Christopher Columbus to remain at the center of Manhattan’s Columbus Circle, calling it a symbol of the “Italian American legacy.”
The Democratic governor reiterated his support for the statue Thursday after similar Columbus monuments have been vandalized or toppled in cities across the country amid protests following the police killing of George Floyd.
Protesters, who have also targeted Confederate monuments across the country, say Columbus’ exploration shouldn’t be idolized because it led to the massacre and forced migration of Native Americans.
But Cuomo, who speaks frequently of his Italian-American heritage and upbringing, said he supports the iconic Manhattan monument because it has come to represent the assimilation of Italian-American people.
Confederates toppled, Columbus beheaded:Protesters rip down controversial statues
Columbus was born in what is now modern day Italy.
“I understand the feelings about Christopher Columbus and some of his acts, which nobody would support,” Cuomo said at his daily coronavirus briefing.
“But the statue has come to represent and signify appreciation for the Italian-American contribution to New York, so for that reason I support it.”
Cuomo’s comments drew an immediate rebuke from Betty Lyons, president of the American Indian Law Alliance, who said those who ignore Columbus’ role in promoting racism and dehumanizing indigenous people “must be called to task.”
“Governor Cuomo’s eloquence in response to the anti-racism movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd apparently does not extend to the genocide and enslavement those first transatlantic voyages initiated and which continue to underpin the oppression of Indigenous peoples to this day,” said Lyons, an Onondaga Nation citizen.
Cuomo and his administration have long pledged support for Columbus statues in New York.
In 2018, the New York State Board for Historic Preservation listed a Central Park monument to Christopher Columbus on the State Register of Historic Places and recommended it for the National Register of Historic Places.
“This designation sends a strong message of the statue’s importance to our state’s history and how worthy it is of preservation so that future generations cans see it, appreciate it and learn from it,” Cuomo said in a statement at the time.
The monument is separate from the Columbus Circle statue, which was erected in 1892 and was already on the National Register of Historic Places.
Follow Jon Campbell on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/11/andrew-cuomo-supports-christopher-columbus-statue-manhattan/5344917002/
Comments