Italian American groups upset with panel's recommendation to permanently remove Chicago's Columbus statues

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The future of several Chicago statues, up in the air. More than two years after protests turned violent at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park, a city panel has recommended that it and several other statues be permanently removed, saying they honor white supremacy or disrespect indigenous people.

Some local organizations are pushing back against the recommendation to permanently remove the Columbus statue in Grant Park, as well as Columbus statues in Arrigo Park and the South Chicago neighborhood.

Those statues were taken down in the summer of 2020, after protesters tried to tear down the Columbus statue in Grant Park. Afterward, Mayor Lori Lightfoot created the Chicago Monuments Project to review hundreds of public monuments in Chicago as part of a "a racial healing and historical reckoning project."

Last year, that panel flagged 41 public monuments as "problematic," and on Friday recommended dozens of sculptures and plaques in Chicago be modified or taken down altogether; most prominently, the three Columbus statues.

"Regarded by many members of the Italian American community as a symbol of cultural pride, the image of Columbus has become a bitter reminder of centuries of exploitation, conquest and genocide. To many, the display of this figure is seen as a justification of these historic wrongs," the panel's recommendation found.

Now, some Italian Americans in Chicago are pushing back on the panel's recommendations, saying they want the Columbus statues put back.

"We're not going to stand for it and were not going away," said Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Community of Italian Americans. "It represents our traditions, our culture, our families. It's come to represent that, and you can't just rip that away from us."

Onesti said there's a difference between creating nuanced history, and taking down monuments.

We asked if he's open to the idea of updating the narrative written in conjunction with the statue.

"We've all grown up with Christopher Columbus; sailed the ocean blue in 1492, and discovered America. That's all we all were taught. We understand that the narratives need to be broadened, the stories need to be told. We want to help tell those stories," he said.

The three Columbus monuments in Chicago have been in storage since the mayor had them taken down in 2020, when our city saw a year of racial reckoning, protests at the statues, and began to reevaluate public art in a big way.

"We need to establish history. Make history. You can't bury history," Onesti said.

The study also said protecting the Columbus statues from further vandalism would be difficult to do with city resources, while some Italian Americans say they've been looking into private security solutions.

"We want work hand-in-hand with the mayor. We want safety. She just has never given us the time of day, or the respect of a meeting," Onesti said.

Including the Columbus statues, the Chicago Monument Project's report pinpointed more than 40 public art pieces either in need to modification or where they recommended removal, including the sculptures on the DuSable Bridge over the Chicago River. The sculptures depict the Battle of Fort Dearborn, and the report says the images show Native Americans as "merely a foil to help define the heroic acts and qualities of colonizing forces."

The Bowman and The Spearman statues on Columbus Circle and Ida B. Wells Drive are also recommended to go. The report says they present "stylized and unrealistic images of American Indians."

The report also recommends doing away with a number of plaques, including one on Michigan Avenue near Randolph Street, honoring John Kinzie and Jean Baptiste Beaubien as the city's first and second civilians. The report says those plaques prioritize "whiteness and denies the existence of Native peoples, and earlier settler Jean Baptiste Point du Sable."

The findings in this report were just recommendations, not hard rulings. The mayor has not said if she agrees with the findings, or what the next steps will be, though she did issue a statement calling the study an "important milestone":

"The release of the final report from the Chicago Monuments Project Advisory Committee marks an important milestone in our city-wide journey in addressing our past so that we can move forward together toward a more equitable and inclusive future.  

I thank the members of the committee for their time, and commitment to this important work on behalf of our City, the extensive and creative public engagement and their willingness to engage in this work in a thorough and thoughtful way.  

While the scope of this work impacts us all, I want to particularly highlight and thank members of the Italian American and the Native communities for their engagement and participation in this process. I have personally learned a lot from my engagement with members of both communities.  

What is clear is the history of both communities is intrinsic to our shared Chicago history and the stories of both communities in all of the nuances needs to be told, known and respected by every Chicagoan. We need to create more opportunities for bridge building which will be to the benefit of us all.

There are many more steps that will be taken on this long journey toward reckoning, understanding, and healing and I look forward to more dialogue, public engagement and the path forward."