ST. LOUIS-Locally, as one of the moves to eliminate echoes of a slave-ridden and racist past, the statue of Christopher Columbus in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis which has sparked the opinions of many in and out of St. Louis as this and many other statues are removed throughout the country.
Tuesday, June 16th, City crews took down the statue as a reminder of some of atrocities done against Black people, Native Americans and other minorities in the building of this country. There has been a lot of statues and symbols of hate coming down since protests emerged after the May 25th murder of George Floyd in the hands of Derek Chauvin, a white police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. This led to statues being taken down, the Marine Corps and Navy banning the use of the Confederate Flag, the revival of Quaker Oats brand of Aunt Jemima Syrup (which will include a name change) and other fundamental changes.
This removal has sparked a great debate on Facebook who has quite varying views on the subject.
Author, Poet, Pastor Angela R. Sims said, “bye.....it needs to go, the great reminders of cruelty inflicted up on us and our ancestors...”
While many see it as a step forward while others see it as erasing history as we know. Many feels taking down the statues erases history for the next generating.
Larry Friddle, Retired Engineering Supervisor for ABC 40/29 in Rogers, Arkansas asks, “Why don't we just erase all of history and write a new one?”
Educator Wendy Peer from Fort Smith, Arkansas adds to the history debate in another point, “I understand the desire to preserve history. However, I think the placement of these statues are the biggest issue. Columbus was a horrible person who killed out an entire people. Someone wants to have his statue, fine. Not on public land.”
Both sides were bringing up more bigger points on not just the Christopher Columbus statue.
“The statue had no significance to the actual history of Tower Grove Park. Not to mention we have glorified this thief long enough!! Goodbye Christopher Columbus,” said Veronica Stevens from St. Louis.
Award Winning Author and Publisher, Rahiem Brooks brings up another point to the issue, “Blacks have bigger issues and need to focus on bridging the economic gap between us and whites and stop making non-factors matter.”
The major Columbus debate also stems on his “discovery of America” as he claims but since Native Americans were already here, did he really discover America?
Author Eddie Campagnola “We should always do whatever is for the betterment of all humanity. Is the statue of a particular person who made a significant contribution towards the betterment of all humanity? That is what a humans value should be based on. Statues for those who were magnanimous. How many human beings have there been throughout all time qualify as magnanimous?”
The debate continued throughout the week and will continue for days to come. Keep reading The H.D. Insider for updates.