Activists in St. Paul tip over a Christopher Columbus statue at the Minnesota State Capitol. | Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster
Activists in St. Paul tip over a Christopher Columbus statue at the Minnesota State Capitol. | Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster
Protestors in St. Paul tipped over a statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus on June 4, the latest in a line of U.S. monuments to be torn down during nationwide demonstrations against racial inequalities and police brutality.
The 10-foot tall bronze statue was pulled off of its granite base by dozens of protesters led by Minnesota-based Native American activist Mike Forcia.
“It was the right thing to do, and it was the right time to do it,” Forcia told Reuters in an apparent reference to the weeks of protests over the May 25 murder of George Floyd under the knee of a white former Minneapolis police officer.
Many Native American activists have long opposed praising Columbus through statues, arguing that it legitimizes the myth that he discovered America. Activists also object to glorifying a man they say played a role in the genocide of their ancestors and the colonization of their land.
The 10-foot tall bronze statue was completed in 1931 and was displayed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol.
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