Boston removes Columbus statue in monuments debate

Residents of Boston's traditionally Italian North End neighborhood say they have mixed emotions over the removal of a beheaded Christopher Columbus statue from a city-owned Park.

The statue was removed early Wednesday, a day after its beheading as the city continues to grapple with controversial landmarks thrown into the spotlight anew during a national reckoning over racism triggered by the killing of George Floyd.

Crews, however, left behind the  marble statue's granite pedestal after Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh has said statue will be placed in storage as the city reassesses its significance.

Saideh Dartley is a retired elementary school teacher of Italian descent and adopted mother of two Chinese girls.

"I feel it should be removed and I feel it shouldn't be removed. I feel as part of our country's history, whether we like it or not. And we can't erase all our history. If we don't learn from the past, we can't move forward," Dartley said on a North End sidewalk.

Columbus' explorations led European to discover America. Critics say that led to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, adding that his violent treatment and killing of Native Americans expose him as a racist.

"The slave trade has been with us even before Christopher Columbus. If you read history, it goes back to ancient civilizations and I don't approve of it, but there's nothing, presently, I can do except to have an open mind and to teach my two girls to I have an open mind," Dartley said.

Fellow Italian-American Lynne Esparo disagreed.

"But the way he went about treating the people, the indigenous people that lived here, was not appropriate. Back in those days people were not as smart as we are now and it's hard to pass judgment for many, many, many years, years ago. But he did not treat people properly and I understand people's frustration with him," said Espero, a marketing executive who produces large events for a living.

Dartley praised the ongoing nationwide protests that are demanding police and other reforms to address concerns over systemic racism in the United States.

"I think it's a good thing, and I do hope we're going to move forward with it and we're going to see reforms. I adopted two girls who are of a minority race and I know what they're going through," Dartley said.

The Italian American Alliance, meanwhile, says it will hold a rally Sunday to demand the restoration and return of the city-owned statue to Christopher Columbus Park.

The alliance in a statement called the beheading "cowardly vandalism."

Espero was concerned over looting that accompanied some of the protests demanding reforms.

"I think destruction of any kind is sad and disappointing and I don't think it helps move forward the needle that everyone wants, which is fairness, equality and justice – and that black lives and all lives matter."

National protests over Floyd's killing at the hands of police Minneapolis have sparked a larger dialogue about racism in the United States.