Columbus monument is about who we were, not who we strive to be: Letter to the Post Stanard | Syracuse.com
To the Editor:
On March 17, Women of Italian and Syracuse Heritage of CNY (WISH CNY) and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON), jointly filed a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) legal brief supporting the City of Syracuse’s appeal to reverse last year’s lower court decision against moving the Columbus monument. US efforts to remove Columbus statues are strengthening, as seen recently in Newark, New Jersey, where Harriet Tubman is honored instead.
On Monday, April 3, the New York state Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Department, will hear oral arguments from the city and Columbus Monument Corporation (CMC).
The lower court and CMC consider the issue contractual, without full evaluation of pertinent issues. Our amicus brief supplies the higher court with full and historically accurate details regarding Columbus, and the progression of dedicated public engagement in Syracuse.
WISH CNY and NOON submitted this 75-page legal brief to demonstrate through clear legal arguments that CMC does not represent all Italian-Americans, and that the lower court manipulated its decision by granting an injunction. We argue that the court favored CMC’s interest and did not consider the public. The ban on moving the monument is a disservice to the broader public interest, which is well-documented over years of discourse, community dialogue, demonstrations and news publications.
Our brief also argues that moving the monument is not prohibited by the Preservation Covenant, as claimed by CMC and last year’s judgment. We assert the Preservation Covenant is terminated because the Columbus monument no longer serves its original purpose: to honor and commemorate Italian-Americans. Columbus’ role in history at the time of the monument’s construction was commemorated by dominant society, and his association with Italian-Americans promoted their social position and acceptance in America. That is no longer the case.
Our brief offers details of Columbus’ actions and the evolution of understanding his role in history. We submit that “whether viewed as the direct perpetrator of violent colonization of the Americas or simply the one to open the door for this historic human rights violation, the view of Columbus is no longer universally positive.”
We agree with the United States Naming Commission, which made recommendations in 2022 for renaming, relocating, modifying or removing military assets commemorating the Confederacy or Confederate soldiers. Their final report says history “... describes the people and places of the past in all their greatness and grimness, achievements and failures, nobility and notoriety. Commemoration elevates an act, event, or individual by bestowing it with communal esteem and honor. The best histories present humans and their choices in the context of the complex and complicated days they live through. The best commemorations highlight individuals, movements and moments that epitomize the highest values of our present and motivate us as we shape our societies of the future … History is about who we were. Commemoration is about who we strive to be.”
WISH CNY and NOON are committed to promoting education and greater perspective regarding this complex and controversial issue.
Hilary-Anne Coppola, Sue Eiholzer, Grace Fritzke, Tarki Heath, Andy Mager, Heather Law Pezzarossi, Cindy Squillace, Sidney Turner and Colleen Zawadzki
Replace Columbus Group
Syracuse
