A Christopher Columbus statue removed from Columbus, Ohio during the height of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 may soon return to public display, signaling what some observers view as a potential shift away from progressive policies in the state's capital city. The statue's potential restoration comes through the Reimagining Columbus project, which unveiled plans for a new display featuring the controversial monument.
State Representative Brian Stewart, a Republican representing Ohio's 12th District, shared news about an August 16 event where Reimagining Columbus revealed the design for the statue's new display. A 19-member board was established to determine the future of the Christopher Columbus statue owned by the City of Columbus, funded by a $2 million study. Stewart commented on social media that it appears "they're putting it back up somewhere but will surround it with a bunch of hand-wringing woke art."
The project receives funding entirely from a $2 million grant provided by the Mellon Foundation in 2023, with no public funds involved, according to Dan Williamson, a project consultant from Werth PR. The Reimagining Columbus website details how the statue was removed from City Hall on July 1, 2020, following local protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That same month, Columbus Day was eliminated as a paid holiday by the Franklin County Commissioners and replaced with Juneteenth, which later became a federal holiday in 2021.
Representative Stewart criticized the original decision to remove the statue, calling it "a dumb move made at the height of the woke insanity post-2020." The website acknowledges that documented abuses of indigenous people by Christopher Columbus had brought into question whether celebrations and memorials to him were insensitive. Following the statue's removal and storage, the Columbus Arts Commission formed a committee to make recommendations about its future, with one proposal being to relocate the statue alongside extensive contextual material.
The controversy reflects broader national debates over Columbus statues and Columbus Day celebrations. Robert Allegrini, President and CEO of the National Italian American Foundation, explained the holiday's significance to Italian Americans. "Italian Americans have long viewed Columbus Day as more than simply honoring one historical figure—it represents the beginning of centuries of immigration to America and the struggles and achievements of those who followed, particularly our Italian ancestors," Allegrini stated.
Allegrini noted that many Columbus statues and celebrations targeted in recent years were established by early Italian immigrants who collected "literally nickels and dimes" to fund monuments representative of their culture during times when Italian Americans faced significant discrimination. The Reimagining Columbus project has included input from Columbus's Italian-American community, many of whom expressed positive views about both the statue and Christopher Columbus himself, according to Williamson.
The city of Columbus has distanced itself from its namesake in recent years. Columbus, Ohio no longer observes Columbus Day, having renamed it Indigenous Peoples Day in 2020, according to Pew Research. Columbus City Schools are also closed for the occasion, and most local governments and public entities have moved their day off elsewhere due to the federal holiday's contentious nature, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch in October 2023.
Allegrini argued that context can be provided about Columbus without sacrificing the importance of celebrating Italian Americans. "While historical figures should always be understood in their full context, Columbus Day at its core commemorates a momentous chapter in human exploration that ultimately connected the world in unprecedented ways," he said. He emphasized that for Italian Americans, the holiday holds special significance as a celebration of heritage, while its broader importance lies in recognizing how Columbus's voyage reshaped global history and set in motion events that created the American nation.
The Reimagining Columbus project may represent a unique approach to addressing statue controversies. Williamson believes the project is distinctive because "no other community that has removed a Columbus statue has undergone a process to consider how to bring it back." Under the new design, which would require a designated site and funding plan, people would again be able to visit the statue, which was originally a gift to Columbus from its sister city, Genoa, Italy.
The potential return of the Columbus statue occurs alongside other developments in Ohio politics and culture. In addition to the plans for restoring the statue removed in 2020, another Columbus statue continues to exist in the Ohio statehouse. The outcome of this project could influence how other communities address similar controversies over historical monuments and their place in contemporary American society.
