One way or another, the statue of 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus in downtown San Antonio is coming down.
Crews are expected to transport it away from Columbus Park as early as Wednesday. All that’s left to decide is whether the removal will be temporary or permanent.
A key City Council panel chaired by Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Tuesday unanimously pushed forward a proposal by District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño to remove the statue of the Italian-born explorer from Columbus Park and rename the park.
If the full council approves the measure in August, the statue would be returned to the Christopher Columbus Italian Society, which originally donated it and backs the Treviño proposal.
No one on the five-member panel expressed any misgivings with the idea, especially given the Italian Society’s support.
“This seems to be pretty cut and dry,” Nirenberg said during the governance committee meeting, noting that he would like to return the statue to the Italian society “as quickly as possible.”
On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio councilman wants Columbus Park renamed, statue of explorer removed
Statues of Columbus — long credited with discovering the “New World” in the service of Spain but viewed by many as a violent colonizer who slaughtered indigenous people — have come under fire in the wake of protests over the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police last month.
In light of that scrutiny, Treviño proposed removing the statue and renaming the park “Piazza Italia Park.”
San Antonio is “richly rooted in a diversity of cultures and their history,” Treviño said, pointing to the region’s early indigenous settlements as well as Italian immigrants who first came here in the early 1870s. But, Treviño said, “symbols of pride for some should not be painful reminders for others.”
“We are being asked to acknowledge symbols in our community that embody a history of oppression, slavery and genocide that have a painful representation for groups in our city,” Treviño said.
Already, the San Antonio statue has drawn heat. Last week, it was vandalized with red paint. On Saturday, dozens of protesters who want the monument torn down confronted armed counter-protesters who favor keeping Columbus on his pedestal.
“While everyone is in their right to do what they are doing, I am certainly concerned that something dangerous could break out when we have weapons and people who are very passionate about what they feel,” District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval said.
On ExpressNews.com: ‘Exactly what we were trying to avoid’: Christopher Columbus statue in San Antonio vandalized
Regardless of where the council lands on the idea of a permanent removal, the statue is coming down anyway. The city wants to remove the paint and restore the statue to a suitable shape before handing it back to the Italian Society.
Renaming the park is a more intensive process — involving a request to the city clerk’s office, the formation of a committee to consider a new name and a council vote to adopt the name.
The council plans to vote on both measures in August.
Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Joshua, become a subscriber. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-to-remove-Christopher-Columbus-statue-15378057.php
2020-07-01 00:02:35Z
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