Loud and impassioned speeches resounded along Main Street on Sunday afternoon, all addressing the question of the day: Should he stay or should he go? The statue of Christopher Columbus in the little city park that bears his name has become a flashpoint of controversy, amid larger questions about rectifying historical wrongs.

The death on May 25 of a Black man, George Floyd, under the knee of a white police officer has triggered a wide-ranging discussion about statues of Confederate war leaders and other symbols of the past, and that discussion could he heard loud and clear in Stamford’s downtown business district.