When Christopher Columbus stepped foot on Bahamanian land in October of 1492, did he ever think that — 528 years later and over 1500 miles north of the Caribbean Sea — the suggested removal of a statue of his image would become the subject of impassioned debate among a local community? Almost certainly not. Yet, cities across the United States are reckoning with their statues of Columbus, and Syracuse is no exception.

The monument of Columbus in downtown Syracuse has become the focus of two camps of concerned Syracuse residents. One group believes it’s high time for the statue in Columbus Circle to be removed, and to that end, a petition has collected 18,659 signatures as of Wednesday. The other group believes that removing statues is erasing history. The latter is composed primarily of Italian Americans, who argue that the Columbus statue represents the industry of their ancestors. A petition to keep the statue has garnered 1876 signatures.

One group notably absent from the entire conflict is Syracuse University.  This should not come as a surprise, as the statue has no discernible SU connection. The university, though, could be doing more to help with this issue.

A racial justice panel on Saturday repeatedly called on SU to become more engaged in social activism efforts in the Syracuse community. This is the perfect opportunity. SU could do so much more to educate its students about the history of the Haudenosonee people. What better place to start than with the Columbus Circle statue?

At the very least, the discourse has the potential to educate Syracuse students on the Haudenosonee people who lived on this land far before the Hall of Languages was built and who are still here today. Beyond that, the conversation surrounding the statue is a debate incorporating history, sociology, policy and, of course, impassioned rhetoric.

Much of the argument in favor of allowing the statue to remain hinges on the notion of choosing to ignore what a statue is glorifying and, rather, admire its existence as an achievement in itself. The Italian Americans of Syracuse commissioned, designed and raised money for the statue, all during the Great Depression — a truly impressive feat.

However, would an Indigenous person in Syracuse find solace in focusing on the deification of a genocidal conqueror rather than that conqueror’s genocide itself? The Columbus of 1492 and the Columbus of 1934 are two sides of the same coin. By pillaging and looting, Columbus rode a wave of white supremacy back to Spain with his ill-gotten gains, and in 1934, the Italian Americans of Syracuse decided that this guy was worth memorializing with a 30-foot pole in the middle of their city.

Statues and monuments unconsciously reinforce a society’s values, said Sara Burke, an assistant professor of psychology at Syracuse University.

“If you walk through an American city, you’re probably a lot more likely to see a statue of Christopher Columbus than to see a statue, it might be fair to say, of any person of color, because Columbus is so ubiquitous in our culture,” Burke said. “And that alone is kind of a striking intuition.”

Our city is not one that condones violence. There’s no place for a monument to genocide in a city where, just blocks away, stands a statue in Clinton Square depicting the Jerry Rescue, the triumphant day when Syracuse residents united to oppose white supremacy in the form of the Fugutive Slave Law. The Jerry Rescue represents united resistance to injustice; the Columbus statue is a monument to injustice. The existence of the latter undermines the former.

In an attempt to bridge the gap between the two groups, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced on June 26 his plans for creating an advisory committee tasked with designing a collaborative and inclusive solution to the Columbus statue conflict. It’s clear that something has to be done about the statue, and Walsh has recognized the potential for good to arise from this conflict.

The Onondaga Nation Council released a powerful statement Aug. 12 in response to Walsh’s announcement. The Council expressed gratitude for the chance to participate in the forum and anticipation for collaborating with other concerned parties to hash out a path forward that is fair and just for everyone.

After acknowledging the cultural importance of the statue to Syracuse’s Italian community, the council stated, “Our own monuments, beautiful lakes, streams, rivers, and the earth itself, has suffered greatly as a direct result principle of the Doctrine of Discovery to which Columbus used to claim the lands in the name of the Spanish crown.” Considering that Italian Americans funded the statue cannot overshadow the priceless, countless fortunes of life, resources and opportunities that were looted from Native Americans and the Americas.

Columbus was an awful human being. I don’t think the Italians in Syracuse in 1934 were, though, and I don’t think the people defending the statue today are, either. I would invite those worrying that the removal of the statue will result in the erasure of Columbus from the history books to consider the Haudenosonee perspective: “As indigenous people, we are taught of the exploits of Columbus while our own history was being unheard, misunderstood, and often erased.”

History teachers throughout the U.S. overwhelmingly rely on textbooks, rather than statues, to teach about Columbus. There are countless historical figures that fill our K-12 history curricula. Like them, Columbus will not be written out anytime soon just because a statue of his likeness is taken down. If the thought of Columbus being erased is truly alarming, then why not listen to the people who have ancestors who actually were erased?

There are other possible avenues forward regarding the statue in Columbus Circle, including transforming the surrounding space into an immersive, educational experience, or even moving the statue to a different area of Syracuse. Whatever the solution may be, the best way to find it is through discussion.

To that end, SU ought to host a panel discussion wherein a dialogue could be facilitated between the Onondaga Nation Council, Italian Americans, and anyone else who would like to participate. Student Association could serve as a moderator for the event, which could encourage SU’s student body to become more interested and participate in a city issue.

As the Onondaga Nation Council said in its statement, “It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.” This issue does not have to be a sore spot between communities; rather, it has the potential to bring all of our communities together to move forward in harmony.

Patrick McCarthy is a graduate student in the magazine, online and digital journalism program. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at [email protected]. He can be followed on Twitter at @pmcopinion.

Published on September 2, 2020 at 8:14 pm