We, the people of Belleville NJ, stand with our Italian American neighbors in their fight to keep the Christopher Columbus Monument. The monument, like many others across the state of NJ, was erected as an atonement for the brutal treatment of Italian Americans after they arrived as immigrants to these shores.

It is a symbol of inclusion and represents the dangerous journey they undertook leaving their home country to start a new life in America. Many of these immigrants settled in Belleville NJ and they deserved to be honored and have the right to celebrate their culture.