New London to discuss permanent removal of Christopher Columbus statue

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW LONDON, CT (WFSB) — The New London City Council is set to discuss on Tuesday the potential removal of the city’s century-old Christopher Columbus statue for good.

The statue stood at Columbus Square in the Whaling City before it was temporarily and quietly removed over the weekend.

Mayor Michael Passero said the statue became a lightning rod for civil discontent.

Thousands of people marched for the Black Lives Matter movement on Bank Street Saturday while others vandalized the 8 foot tall statue with red paint.

Dawn Harkness recorded video of city crews removing the 92-year-old marble statue from the area early Sunday morning.

The mayor said given the current social climate, he felt it was best to remove it.

The statue was placed in storage at a warehouse and it’ll stay there until the council makes a decision.

If it goes back up, it will need to be restored since it was vandalized.

During Tuesday night’s special meeting, the city council will decide what happens with the statue moving forward.

“I feel that people are way more excited about the rights of the statue than they are about the kids who are complaining about the way they’ve been treated and the way they see people in our community and across the country and across the world being treated,” Harkness told Channel 3. “I’d like to see the same kind of energy with people being upset about systemic racism in our country as they were about a little red paint on a statue.”

Harkness believes the statue shouldn’t be destroyed, instead put somewhere like a museum where we can study and learn about all of Columbus’s history.

Other people feel the history should stay where it has been for decades.

There will be public comment during the special meeting. People can submit statements ahead of time or in real time.

Statements can be sent to jstartz@newlondonct.org.

Attendees may sign up to speak at this link on the City of New London website.

Public Comment must be submitted in writing, or with the attendee’s name submitted on the fillable signup form on the City website, at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the meeting, the city said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.