Detroit moves bust of Christopher Columbus from downtown into storage
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The city of Detroit has removed a bust of explorer Christopher Columbus from a spot downtown after 110 years.
Mayor Mike Duggan said at his press briefing Monday that the statue that sat outside City Hall has been moved into storage for the time being so a bigger conversation can happen about what will become of it. The move comes while other cities and states have removed Confederate Civil War statues and other public monuments to people with a racist past.
"When I looked around some of the violence around the country in particular, you've got people with arms gathering around a Columbus statue in Philadelphia and we just don't need this. We should have a conversation as a community as to what is the appropriate place for such a statue but I don't want to have that conversation in the midst of, at gunpoint or in the middle of an argument," Duggan said.
He says he supported Detroit City Council three years ago when they voted to eliminate Columbus Day as a holiday in the City and that he's eager to find what he calls the right solution here.
"I think, if you've got a spot next to City Hall that is a place that should be a symbol of unity and so, I'm sure we'll end up with the right solution and I just didn't see any reason to have any drama," he said.
Years ago, the statue was vandalized on Christopher Columbus Day. A hatchet was taped to the top of the head with fake blood coming from it.
The Detroit Columbus bust was a gift from the readers of an Italian newspaper in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' death.
By the 1990s, a new generation of Native American activists blamed Columbus for launching centuries of indigenous genocide.
The mayor spoke about the statue at his Monday news conference, after announcing the events for the city's weeklong Juneteenth celebration. The week concludes with a Juneteenth Freedom Rally at Spirit Plaza 10 a.m. on Friday, June 19.