Newarkers woke up to a rapidly growing circulation of news that a statue of Christopher Columbus has been removed from Washington Park late last night. The city is moving aggressively to transform itself in a number of ways as the country’s heightened sensitivity to social justice and the systemic oppression of Black people.
“In keeping with the movement to remove symbols of oppression and white supremacy, we have decided to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Washington Park,” Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “We took it down with City work crews in a safe and orderly manner, to avoid the potential danger of people taking it upon themselves to topple it.”
Mayor Baraka said the statue will be kept in storage until the City decides what to do with it.
The statue was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1927, as gift to the City from the Italian-American community.
“The removal of this statue should not be perceived as an insult to the Italian-American community,” Mayor Baraka said. “It is a statement against the barbarism, enslavement, and oppression that this explorer represents.”
