Top 10 of 2020: #6 – The Struggle to Remove Columbus From Places of Honor

The New Britain Progressive covered a lot of major news in New Britain during 2020 – much more than just ten top stories. As the New Britain Progressive now presents our traditional Top Ten stories of the year, it is truer now than in the past that it is difficult to name only a few articles as the top among a great deal of important news. But here are a few, in this year’s annual series, that the New Britain Progressive would like to share as our Top Ten. Other Top Ten stories can be found at “Top Ten Stories of 2020.”

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In 2020, nationwide, and in New Britain, protests and activism against systemic racism happened in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, as well as numerous other people of color by police. Those protests included a focus on bringing down symbols of racism and colonialism, which renewed attention to accounts from a priest, Bartolome de las Casas, and others, telling about enslavement, murder, rape and other brutality upon native peoples under Christopher Columbus’ conquests. That led to successful calls for statues of him being removed in some cities, and for calls to remove a statue of Columbus from a prominent city park on New Britain’s Main Street.

In July, the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition held a protest calling for the statue to be removed from its location at McCabe Park, at the corner of Main and North streets. (“Protest Calls for City to Remove Columbus Statue.”) NAACP New Britain Branch President Ronald P. Davis penned a commentary calling for both the removal of the statue and changing the name of Columbus Boulevard, saying that Columbus, “is the cornerstone of ‘Institutional Racism’ in America.” (“Davis Calls for Columbus Statue Removal“.) With advocates called for swift action to remove the statue, two City Council members, Ald. Colin Osborn (D-2) and Ald. Chris Anderson (D-AL), called on the city’ City Plan Commission to act on the call for moving it.

A few days later, the Board of Education voted to change Columbus Day on the school calendar to Indigenous People Day, noting, “that Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BBIPOC) still suffer from the ramifications of the colonial oppression that ensued at the hands of European explorers like Columbus.” (“New Britain Schools Change Columbus Day to Indigenous People Day“.)

Later in July, the Racial Justice Coalition and the NAACP were joined by the New Britain Black Ministerial Alliance, People’s Coalition of Central Connecticut and others in calling for a “People’s Agenda,” which included a call for, “The immediate removal of the Christopher Columbus Statue and the redistribution of funds used to maintain the statue towards grass-roots community projects.” (“Call Made for a People’s Agenda in New Britain“.)

Opposition to moving the statue has been expressed, but has drawn strongly worded rebukes from community leaders about racist comments made against removing the statue. (“Community Leaders Rebuke Racist Comments“.)

The City Plan Commission first submitted its report back to the Council in September (“Columbus Statue Removal Question Returning to Council“), but that report mostly just deferred the question on moving back to the Council. In November, Ald. Anderson and Ald. Osborn introduced a formal resolution on moving the statue from McCabe Park. (“Council Resolution to Remove Columbus Statue Proposed“.) While Anderson said that he believed that the Council had enough information to vote on moving the statue at its November meeting, the majority Republican Council referred it to one of the Council’s committees for further consideration. (“Council Refers Columbus Statue Resolution to Committee“.) That pushed consideration of the item back to December.

In December, the Council’s committee voted to send a slightly amended version of the resolution back to the full Council (“Resolution to Move Columbus Statue Voted Back to Council“), and the Council then voted to approve moving the statue from the city park 10 to 4, with both Democratic and Republican Council members voting in favor. (“Council Votes to Remove Columbus Statue“.)

But then Republican Mayor Erin Stewart vetoed the resolution. Stewart mocked the Council for the five months that the issue of removing the statue has been under consideration – while ignoring the irony that advocates for moving the statue had been pressing for swift action on doing so since the summer, criticizing Stewart’s city hall for dragging its feet on the matter. (“Opposing Racial Justice Advocates, Stewart Vetoes Columbus Statue Resolution“.)

The real irony, though, might come in January, if members of Stewart’s Republican Council caucus, who normally vote in lockstep as part of the Stewart Republican political machine, contribute to the ten votes needed for a rare veto override to approve the resolution over her objection.

In her veto message, Stewart sought to diminish the importance of removing the statue from a prominent city park, even saying that doing so would not advance a, “goal of social justice or racial equality.” Yet it was Stewart who thought that keeping the statue was important enough to veto removing it. That veto is now etched in New Britain’s history, and in Stewart’s own legacy.

While the end of this story is not written yet, it is certainly one of the New Britain Progressive‘s Top Ten Stories of 2020.

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Opposing Racial Justice Advocates, Stewart Vetoes Columbus Statue Resolution

December 18, 2020

With people’s attention focused on digging out from a nor’easter on December 17, 2020, only a week before Christmas, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart vetoed a resolution to move a statue of Christopher Columbus from a prominent city park.

The issue of moving the statue has been the subject of intense debate for months, with community activists advocating for this removal. The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition has been advocating for the city to remove the statue since July. The group held a protest against the statue in July and has been pressing for its removal since.

“As a community, we cannot continue to praise a man who stole land and continually chose to dehumanize native people,” New Britain NAACP President Ronald P. Davis said in comments he also made in July. “Why should we have a statue, or a street dedicated to anyone who stands as a symbol for the violence?”

With nationwide protests against racism and inequality including a focus on bringing down symbols of racism and colonialism, renewed attention to accounts from a priest, Bartolome de las Casas, and others, telling about enslavement, murder, rape and other brutality upon native peoples under Columbus’ conquests have led to successful calls for statues of him being removed in some cities.

Opposition to moving the statue has been expressed, but has drawn strongly worded rebukes from community leaders about racist comments made against removing the statue.

In her veto message, Stewart mocked the City Council for the five months that the issue of removing the statue has been under consideration. Yet advocates for moving the statue had been pressing for swift action on doing so since the summer, criticizing Stewart’s city hall for dragging its feet on the matter.

Stewart also said that removing the statue would not advance a, “goal of social justice or racial equality.”

The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition responded to Stewart’s veto, saying, “We are extremely disheartened to hear Mayor Stewart vetoes the statue removal.”

“The fight continues…” the Coalition added.

The matter now returns to the Council, setting up the possibility of a rare veto override attempt.

When the resolution was approved by the Council at its meeting on December 9, 2020, it was by a 10 to 4 vote, with four Republican Council members joining the six Democrats in approving the measure. The Council can override a veto and pass the resolution against the mayor’s wishes, but only if ten Council members vote to do so.

That vote would generally occur at the next Council after the veto. The next regular Council meeting is on January 13, 2021.

Introduced by two Democratic Council members, Ald. Chris Anderson (D-AL) and Ald. Colin Osborn (D-2), the resolution calls for the removal of the statue of Columbus from its present location on city parkland at the corner of Main and North streets and replacing it with another symbol honoring Italian Americans in New Britain.

Stewart and city Republicans have been seen by many in an increasingly negative light after a string of divisive decisions. In October, Republicans voted down the creation of a strong community police review board in a Council committee. In recent weeks, Council Republicans and Stewart, herself, have acted to block a vote on the appointment of Democrat Veronica T. DeLandro to succeed Rep.-Elect Manny Sanchez (D-24) on the Council.