The right solution is to be additive, not destructive.
Tearing things down does not help others to rise up. Instead of destroying a cherished tribute donated by thousands of Italian Americans, we believe that recognition of and education about other oppressed groups will cause healing, just as it did for Italians in 1934, and for the Onondaga Nation at the Ska Nonh Center.
Those who make Columbus the symbol of all oppression, racism, social injustice, and atrocities committed by the British and French over the course of a 500 year history are heaping too much blame onto one man who captained a ship. The Church was the promoter and sponsor of the Doctrine of Discovery – Columbus, the scientist and explorer, was merely one of its instruments to execute that doctrine. Erasing Columbus doesn’t solve any fundamental issues.
By pairing the existing Columbus Monument with an ongoing series of conflicting artworks dealing with the themes of oppression and exclusion, Syracuse would be confronting history rather than erasing history. The community would be educating, rather than destroying. Done properly, this initiative in Syracuse could become an example for communities all over the country who are struggling with the same conundrum. Syracuse could model how to preserve history while at the same time addressing modern realities.
We believe that our proposal – consistent with but going beyond the approach taken in New York City – is innovative, inclusive, and executable almost immediately.
Please read our addendum to the Action Circle Report by Interfaith Works. Interfaith would not include this as part of the final report. They did, however, forward it separately to Mayor Walsh. He did not respond.
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