Columbus statues kept in storage—from left clockwise—the municipalities: Chula Vista, San Francisco, St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago, Newark, Hartford, and St. Louis
In the summer of 2020, amid protests and unrest across America, Christopher Columbus statues were toppled, vandalized, removed under the cover of darkness, and placed into municipal storage.
As mayors and governors, you promised to return the statues. Their removal, we were told, was only a temporary measure—to “protect them.”
Now, years later, countless monuments remain hidden away in warehouses, confined in fenced lots, and relegated to government facilities—out of public view and beyond the reach of the very community that helped create them.
Columbus statues kept in storage—from left clockwise—the municipalities: Chula Vista, San Francisco, St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago, Newark, Hartford, and St. Louis
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Release from Storage
To America’s mayors and governors—if you no longer wish to display Columbus statues in your respective cities and states, then let the Italian American community have them.
Give us what our ancestors gave you.
Italian immigrants were grateful to come to America. They were grateful to have a better life in your states and cities than they ever might have imaged in Italy. And now 100 years later - the statues they gave to your states and cities have been torn down and discarded.
Yes—communities have the right to debate what belongs in public squares. But they do not have the right to imprison works of art and history indefinitely simply because they have become politically inconvenient.
Columbus monument in Wilmington, Delaware remains in storage
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Statues Locked Away
Many of these monuments were not gifts from wealthy benefactors or government agencies. They were paid for through years of fundraising by Italian immigrants—men and women who worked grueling jobs for modest wages. They organized banquets, church collections, neighborhood drives, and charitable events to raise the money. These statues were expressions of gratitude to the nation—and to your city and state—that had given them opportunity.
Columbus monuments were visible declarations that Italian Americans belonged in the American story.
Now, we realize we must act alone. Only we care about the legacy of our ancestors. The gifts to cities and states—as tokens of appreciation by our grandparents and great grandparents—have been unceremoniously scrapped by the gift recipients.
Columbus symbolized acceptance at a time when Italians faced discrimination, violence, and exclusion. The monuments became enduring reminders that their sacrifices mattered and that their children had earned a place in America.
Today, many cities and states have locked the statues away indefinitely. These monuments cannot be viewed, appreciated, restored, or maintained by the descendants of those who paid for them. They sit deteriorating in storage while officials postpone decisions year after year.
No one is served by such pettiness.
If a municipality or state has concluded that a Columbus monument no longer belongs on public land, then transfer ownership of the artwork to Italian American organizations, museums, historical societies, churches, or cultural foundations willing to preserve and display the statues responsibly on private property.
Allow the Italian American community to care for our heritage.
Keeping these statues hidden away accomplishes nothing except prolonging resentment. It is neither reconciliation nor justice. We do not solve disagreements by locking history in warehouses.
If the cities and states no longer want these monuments, then release them.
Release them to us. Let us repair them. Let us maintain them. Let us honor the sacrifices of our ancestors.
The Columbus monument in Denver - still in storage
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Editor’s Note: The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations continues the fight to bring back the Columubus statues. Their web site is: https://copomiao.org
READ HERE THE NEW EDITION - SECOND 2026 PRIMO
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