This is why the police and public officials can't allow statues / works of art to just be toppled and destroyed and of course safety issues.

The statues history is almost always more nuanced then those who destroy them are aware. And, how many of them bother to look back at their history before making assumptions? Maybe they shouldn't be on public grounds, but destruction is not the answer.


"In the early 1920s, Richmond’s Italian-American community – about 1,000 strong – wanted to gift a statue of their kinsman to their adopted home. The residents hoped city officials would add a Columbus statue to Monument Avenue, but their request was quickly rejected by a city committee. It claimed that Columbus was not only foreign but Catholic - and thus could not possibly stand among some of the Confederacy’s most revered figures.


The Italian-Americans didn’t give up, and the statue issue returned in June 1925. This time, the city moved forward with a resolution that would put the statue on a Richmond street – but not Monument Avenue. The decision was controversial: The Patriotic Welfare Committee, which was made up of several groups including the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and the Patriotic Order of America, unsuccessfully sought to upend it.

By February 1926, the Italian-American community started fundraising for the statue, with a goal of $25,000. Local Italian sculptor Ferruccio Legnaioli was selected to be its creator, and in June 1927, ground was broken on the Boulevard."




[Post edited by RUHokie at 06/12/2020 1:00PM]