ELIZABETH, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- More than 90,000 people have signed a petition seeking to replace a statue of Christopher Columbus in New Jersey with a statue of transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson.
A Change.org petition created by 19-year-old Elizabeth resident Celine Da Silva calls for a statue of Columbus in Elizabeth to be “removed and replaced with a monument to someone who is deserving of being celebrated, Marsha P. Johnson.”
Johnson, a pioneer of the LGBTQ rights movement, was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, living there until she graduated from high school.
Elizabeth's Columbus statue currently sits outside O’Brien Field, at the corner of Third Avenue and S. Seventh Street.
“Although it is widely taught that Columbus ‘discovered’ the Americas, he could not have ‘discovered land that was already occupied by indigenous groups,” the petition says. “Many believe celebrating Columbus is glorifying European colonialism.”
Johnson, meanwhile, was “a black activist and trans woman who was born and raised right here in Elizabeth, New Jersey,” the petition adds.
"We should commemorate Marsha P. Johnson for the incredible things she did in her lifetime and for the inspiration she is to members of the LGBT+ community worldwide, especially Black trans women," it goes on to say.
In an interview with CNN, Da Silva said she got an “overwhelming amount of positive support” after she started the petition.
“People are becoming more accepting to people who identify as LGBT,” she told the outlet. “It tells me that people are realizing how whitewashed our history is and how some figures tha twe learn about, we don’t learn everything about them.”