Bring Them Back!
Efforts grow to restore monuments removed during 2020 protests
Efforts grow to restore monuments removed during 2020 protests
(Gettysburg Connection) - Six years after nationwide protests led to the removal of hundreds of public monuments, a growing movement is seeking to return some of those statues to public view, reigniting debates over how communities should remember their history.
Across the country, lawsuits, legislative proposals, and local advocacy campaigns are pushing for the restoration of monuments honoring figures ranging from Christopher Columbus and the Founding Fathers to Confederate leaders and Texas Rangers. Many of the statues were removed during the racial justice protests that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
One of the highest-profile disputes is unfolding in Columbus, Ohio, where Italian-American organizations have filed a federal lawsuit seeking the return of a 22-foot statue of Christopher Columbus that was removed from the grounds of City Hall in 2020. City officials removed the monument amid concerns about Columbus’ role in the colonization of the Americas and the treatment of Indigenous peoples. The statue remains in storage while the legal battle continues.
The issue has also attracted attention from the Trump administration as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary. In March, a replica of a…