Columbus statue, removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, re-emerges in nearby town

Published October 4, 2023 10:05 PM

By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Three years after a Christopher Columbus statue was removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, the bronze cast has re-emerged, this time in a park in Johnston, Rhode Island, about 9 miles west of the capital. The sculpture had been targeted by vandals, at one point being splashed with red paint with a sign reading “Stop celebrating genocide” leaning against its pedestal. In 2020, the statue was removed. Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena said residents of his heavily Italian-American town are pleased to give the statue a new home. Critics say the memorial ignores a history of rape, murder and genocide.

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