PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city removed the box that had been covering up the Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia for the last two years.
Crews took down the plywood box Sunday night, making the figure visible once again.
The city is following a Commonwealth Court ruling on Friday that sided with the Friends of Marconi Plaza. The group had been trying to reverse the city’s decision to cover the statue, a debate that ignited during protests over racial injustice in 2020.
South Philly resident Michael Vasos watched crews remove the box Sunday night. He told NBC10 that it was about time.
“When the mayor put the statue in a box, you’re putting our heritage in a box,” he said. “You’re boxing us up. You’re boxing our neighborhood and the good people in this neighborhood up, because we believe firmly in our Italian heritage, and we took it as an attack.”
Those who wanted the statue removed argue it has nothing to do with Italian Americans. Instead, they say Columbus shouldn’t be honored at all because of the enslavement and treatment of Native Americans that followed his arrival.
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The city, in a statement, said it was looking at “a way forward that allows Philadelphians to celebrate their heritage and culture while respecting the histories and circumstances of everyone’s different backgrounds.”
Attorneys for the Friends of Marconi Plaza sent a letter to Mayor Jim Kenney reminding him of his “fiduciary duty” to preserve and protect the statue.