By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
A statue of Christopher Columbus at Elmwood and Reservoir Avenues in Providence was found defaced early on Columbus Day with red and black paint, including an expletive on the front and a hammer and sickle, the symbol of the old Soviet Union painted on the rear.
Several passers-by said they had mixed feelings about the vandalism, as Columbus’ legacy undergoes reevaluation.
“I don’t condone vandalism… however, quite honestly if we’re going to have vandalism, I’m more okay with this than I would be with other things,” said Larry Loverde, who said he works nearby.
“I’ve been troubled for a long time with the whole ongoing perception of Christopher Columbus as something kind of different than who he was. This is not the way to do it. Let’s teach it in school, let’s talk about it in the public square, but not this,” said Loverde.
“As a kid I would always walk by here and ride by on my bike and was never happy with it, because America was built on the graves of Native Americans,” said Darrell Waldron, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Indian Council, Inc.
“He (Columbus) always portrayed us as the villains and never the heroes, he went out and shot and murdered and killed us, and I don’t believe there’s one Native American statue in the state of Rhode Island,” Waldron said.
The office of Mayor Jorge Elorza issued a statement: “The Providence Police are aware of the vandalism and are investigating. The mayor’s office is working, through Public Property, to remove the graffiti at this time.”
The bronze statue, which was reportedly built by the Gorham Manufacturing Company for the 1892 Columbian Exposition in Chicago was dedicated in 1863. It was also defaced with red paint on Columbus Day, 2010.
Two statues of Columbus were defaced with red paint Monday in New Haven, Connecticut.
