Committee Named To Consider Columbus Replacement

Where are the Indigenous voices (note plural) on this committee?

Why isn't choosing a replacement being done by mob rule?

The Roman orator Cicero once said that a commonwealth, a republic, is not just a collection of people joined by geography. A republic, a res publico, or public thing, is a group bound together by common interests and a common conception of right.
Are we a republic any longer?
I'm here today to voice opposition to removing a statue of Christopher Columbus from a public space. I'm here to say that the history we were taught, which became part of our ethos, our character, is not a vulgar lie, or the product of some vile conspiracy. America is an ideal, a series of commitments, transplanted to these shores and then husbanded over centuries. Tearing up pieces of the history doesn't make us stronger; it diminishes us.
I'm not here to defend Christopher Columbus. He was a great explorer who shares the tragic marks of all whose ideals come hard against reality. You can find fault with Columbus without defiling his memory. You can love American and acknowledge both its shortcomings and the work that needs doing to make a more perfect union.
The same can be said of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
The same can also be said of Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King.
There was a time when everyone understood St. Paul: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." That is original sin, a part of the human condition that only can be overcome by grace.
Much is said these days about America's "original sin," the sin of slavery, transported here in 1619 when Africa sold her own children into a bondage perpetuated on these shores. We fought a civil war to eliminate slavery as a legal institution. It took decades of struggle to end the tragic legacy of Jim Crow. In the 1960s, federal civil rights legislation sought to level the playing field in terms of housing, employment and voting.
We've come a long way toward fulfilling the American dream.
We have a long way to go.

Can we stop erecting statues to people … flawed people all. How about a historical plaque commemorating the countless native and immigrant residents who helped to make the land what it is … the Quinnipiac tribe until 1638 when the Puritans arrive, (General David Wooster who led troops against the British died 1777) the Irish immigrants in the 1800's, the Italians came at the start of the 20th century, and the development of the Wooster project between 1830-1870 … historical. It wasn't just ONE person who made/makes Wooster Square (and all our neighborhoods/communities) great and maybe we could start a new precedent.

1) Overall, seems like a logical list as far as civic organizations and local historical experts go.

2) I hope opportunities for input from neighborhood residents will be built into the process.

3) There's some weirdness with elected officials happening on this list. Paolillo (whose district does not include Wooster Square) is on here, but Lemar and Looney are not? Also, is the fact that Cupo isn't on this list just because Walker-Myers is going to appoint her to the committee anyway, and Elicker is just showing deference to the Board of Alders? Seems to me that any elected officials on the list should be directly accountable to voters in the neighborhood.

Where is the Republican representation on this committee? And why wasn't this done BEFORE taking the statue down?

Perhaps the city could hold off on spending money on statues in the midst of a pandemic, and instead, make sure it's citizens have access to food and shelter.

"Elicker named the 24 people Monday to a committee exploring how to replace the Columbus statue" - a perfect example of "ready, fire, aim!" The foolish rush to remove the statue was without rational basis and should have been done AFTER discussion, debate, and selection/funding/creation of a replacement.

Please stop making statues of individuals in public spaces and instead use statues of ideas. Individuals are flawed because they are humans. If it was up to me the Columbus statue would be replaced by a statue and a plaque representing of all the major groups of people that made the Wooster Square area their home.

Agree wholeheartedly with Hill Resident and Heather C. We think the same way...Have a series of plaques in chronological order citing facts of Wooster Square...Has anyone even wondered who Wooster is? Include facts about the areas history, encompassing the Native Americans presence, Daniel Wooster's contributions, whether glorious or heinous, William Lanson's mighty reign there, Pepe's popularity coupled with the history of the development of the Italian American community there as a whole, the conflict behind the Columbus statue removal and one last plaque with a proverbial statement or affirmation about the possibilities of the future...leave the sole hero statues out of it...Elicker should have put me, Hill Resident and Heather C on the committee...we'd have this fiasco solved and done with within in a week...24 people and still left out the Native American community? Give me a break...

Think I wrote Daniel...meant David...

1) How about we replace the Columbus Statue with an oak tree, and then we paint the large, empty wall near (the very-underrated!) Lenzi Park with a mural depicting the progression of the neighborhood's history as described by scarab.

Mural are better than statues in that they can include more artistic and historical nuance, they are more temporary, and then they can be subsequently better preserved (through photography) than a statue. Murals can also include more community involvement in the process of discerning the story and then painting.

2) "Elicker should have put me, Hill Resident and Heather C on the committee." Agree with this. One thing I've found frustrating since moving here is how hard it is to get involved if you aren't already plugged in. It should be a lot easier! Lots of voices get locked out, and it's hard to know how to get involved (and hard to actually get responses from local organizations and politicians if you try) if you aren't involved with Yale, UNITE HERE, or if your family hasn't been here for several generations.

@MArdito05

As the great philosopher George Carlin once said about trying to find Native Americans, "we made it just a bit difficult".


@VoteRepublican

Given what a bang up job the Republicans have done running the country (sarcasm), I think we can take a pass on hearing from the part for now.

My vote goes to A. Bartlett Giamatti, former President of Yale University, Prof. of English Renaissance literature, former Commissioner MLB.

Just read an article about William B. Wooster, he was the Colonel of the 29th Regiment. The unit was comprised of non-white or "colored" recruits of varying origins, ages, and occupational backgrounds who were willing to fight for the Union. Is this who Wooster St./Square is named? Ironic it's a Civil War again. So because it's already named for him, it should stay. The garment workers who settled there and started the community are perfect choices for the statue.