As Americans all across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, and people across the developed world rise up against systemic and institutional racism, conservatives are trying to do what they’ve always done; defend racist white men with “its just history.” Yet they want to scrub women of color and non-binary folk from that same history.
Christopher Columbus, a man who is most responsible for the Native American genocide, has statues of himself all across this country. He was America’s first white surpemacist. Andrew Cuomo, when pressed about removing these large and expensive symbols of this racist ideology, showed his true DLC colors.
“I understand the feelings about Christopher Columbus and some of his acts, which nobody would support, but the statue has come to represent and signify appreciation for the Italian American contribution to New York,” Cuomo said during a briefing in Albany. “For that reason, I support it.”
Civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has boosted support for removing tributes to historical figures with problematic pasts such as Columbus and Confederate leaders in the South.
All those who want our friends of color, especially indigenous folks to be safe in their rightful land, must urge the NY Democratic Party to defy Mr. Cuomo!