Philadelphia officials said Monday that there are no plans to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from Marconi Plaza. The announcement was issued after a weekend of sometimes tense moments between protesters who defended Columbus as a symbol of Italian American culture, and counter-protesters who argued that the statue represents oppression.
Barricades remained around the statue in South Philadelphia on Monday, but there was a smaller crowd in the area as tensions continued to cool. The time-honored Columbus Day parades and monument construction began in the late 1800s as Italian immigrants attempted to create a sense of dignity during a period where they were subjected to lynchings, bigotry and prejudice throughout the country.
