Columbus statue, removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, re-emerges in nearby town
Three years after a Christopher Columbus statue was removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, the bronze cast has re-emerged, this time in a park in Johnston, Rhode Island, about 9 miles west of the capital.
Trump's Columbus Day proclamation includes stark warnings
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s proclamation Friday commemorating Columbus Day veered from a typical White House holiday announcement, with stark warnings of “radical activists” seeking to tarnish the explorer’s legacy. Native American advocates have pressed states for years to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day over concerns that Christopher Columbus helped launch centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas. “Sadly, in recent years, radical activists have sought to undermine Christopher Columbus’s legacy,” Trump said in his proclamation declaring Monday Columbus Day. Trump frequently cites the commission at his campaign rallies, and he did so again in his proclamation Friday. Trump has also ordered federal agencies to end diversity training programs.
Bryan Norcross Podcast - South Florida closely watching Tropical Depression Thirteen plus Eric Jay Dolin on his new book
Bryan talks with Eric Jay Dolin, the author of the new book, “A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes.”From the first hurricane forecast by a European, Christopher Columbus, to the great hurricanes that have hit America in more modern times, Bryan and Eric talk about the process of writing a book that covers so much time, and with so much information available. Plus fascinating stories of the forecasters and regular people who lived through the incredible storms. SUBSCRIBE to The Bryan Norcross Podcast - iTunes | Android
AP Interview: Barcelona mayor wants Columbus statue debate
A seagull flies past the statue of Christopher Columbus in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2020. Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau is one of the few public officials who say Spain must revisit its colonial legacy - though she is against timid calls to remove the citys monument to Christopher Columbus. Instead, she wants to encourage a public discussion about the Italian explorer whose landing in the Caribbean in 1492 gave birth to Spains overseas empire. There is an open debate and we think that is positive and necessary, Colau told The Associated Press in an interview on Thursday. Nor have the other statues to Columbus who many Spaniards consider a discoverer and not a colonizer become sources of contention now.
Columbus as supremacist? Some with Italian roots reject him
BOSTON Generations of Italian Americans embraced Christopher Columbus with little thought to the dark side of his legacy. There has always been the feeling that Italian Americans all feel the same way about Columbus, said Heather Leavell, 46, of Bedford, one of the founders of the group Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples' Day. For some, however including Francis Mazzaglia of the group the Italian American Alliance the destruction leveled at the Columbus statue amounts to a hate crime against Italian Americans. Corrie Popp, a 46-year-old high school English teacher and Waltham resident, said many younger Italian Americans are ready to dump Columbus. Most Italian Americans are big-hearted people, said Popp, whose mother is of Italian descent.
The Latest: Warren won't prosecute peaceful protesters
Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, right, speaks during a news conference Monday, June 15, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. Warren announced his decision not to prosecute dozens of protesters arrested on charges of unlawful assembly during a Black Lives Matter march on June 2. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)TOP OF THE HOUR: Florida state attorney won't prosecute peaceful protesters. State Attorney Andrew Warren in Tampa said that his office wont be filing charges against 67 protesters who were arrested two weeks ago in downtown Tampa. The prosecutors office will also work to expunge the arrest records of the protesters who were taken into custody, he said. In these unlawful assembly cases, there is no value in filing charges, Warren said at a news conference.
Miami citizens’ group to counter-protest Sunday
MIAMI, Fla. – Evelio Mendina wants to spread a message of peace. On Friday, he stood at the base of a statue of Christopher Columbus, one of two in downtown Miami that were defaced by protesters on Wednesday. Basically, there’s room for everybody, as long as it’s peaceful.”Medina founded his own group called the Law Abiding Citizens’ Coalition. It is one of the reasons he decided to hold his own counter-protest at Bayfront Park on Sunday. Protesters said they targeted it because of Columbus’ history of terrorizing and enslaving Native Americans.
Minnesota Senate GOP to block most policing overhaul plans
Minnesota State Troopers surrounded the statue of Christopher Columbus after it was toppled in front of the Minnesota State Capitol, Wednesday, June 10, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, Warren Limmer, laid out their agenda shortly before the Legislature convened for a special session. That would effectively force the state House to adjourn too, but Gazelka said lawmakers would continue to work on bigger changes. Democratic House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said the Senate Republican plan falls short of what the moment requires. The special session was already in the works before protests erupted in Minneapolis and spread around the world over Floyd's death in police custody.
Historical figures reassessed around globe after Floyd death
People stand around the fallen Christopher Columbus statue at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. In Bristol, England, demonstrators over the weekend toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston and threw it in the harbor. On Wednesday night, protesters pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who has proposed dismantling all Confederate statues in the city, asked protesters not to take matters into their own hands for their own safety. Andrew Cuomo, who is Italian American, said he opposes removal of a statue of Columbus in Manhattans Columbus Circle.
Police: 7 arrested for vandalizing Columbus, Ponce De Leon statues in downtown Miami
MIAMI Seven people were arrested Wednesday night for after two statues were vandalized in downtown Miami during a protest. The damaged Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce De Leon statues are located outside Bayside Market. According to Miami police, a group of protesters were in the area of Biscayne Boulevard and Fourth Street Wednesday when authorities saw several people spray painting the statues. Police said several protesters assaulted officers while they were trying to arrest the suspects and damaged a police vehicle. Authorities said the peaceful protesters were not arrested.
Historical figures under attack after George Floyd's death
The statues on the Confederate monument are covered in graffiti and beheaded after a protest in Portsmouth, Va., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Protesters beheaded and then pulled down four statues that were part of a Confederate monument. The spokesman for the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, B. Frank Earnest, condemned the toppling of public works of art and likened losing the Confederate statues to losing a family member. For protesters mobilized by Floyds death, the targets have ranged far beyond the Confederacy. Andrew Cuomo, who is Italian American, said he opposes removal of a statue of Columbus in Manhattans Columbus Circle.