Following a week of peaceful as well as aggressive protesting throughout the country due to its history of violence against Black and Brown people, two Christopher Columbus statues in two different cities were taken down by citizens after protesters called to bring the longstanding monuments down.
In Richmond, Virginia, the statue in downtown’s Byrd Park was torn down following a peaceful demonstration in support of indigenous people Tuesday night, according to local news. The statue was then spray-painted, set on fire and tossed into a lake.
In Boston, a Columbus statue was beheaded at some point before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, when police received a call. The head was discovered later in the investigation.
Even though Columbus has been celebrated as the founder of the North American continent for several centuries of history, despite his historic colonization, enslavement and violence towards Indigenous Americans.
