BOOK # 3 A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE
NOVEMBER 2025
Over the course of six books, this report fully details the activities and outcomes of the Reimagining Columbus project, through which the City of Columbus, Ohio reckoned with its relationship to the explorer Christopher Columbus.
THE SIX BOOKS IN THIS SERIES INCLUDE:
BOOK # 1
provides insights into how the City of Columbus came to display a Christopher Columbus statue on the grounds of its City Hall, why that statue was removed in 2020, and how the Reimagining Columbus project was designed to help the city determine what to do with it going forward.
BOOK # 2
describes research the project team undertook to discover the many stories that have played out among the people of Columbus, Ohio since long before it became a city, the truth of Christopher Columbus and his conduct in the New World, and how an explorer who never reached the United States became a symbol of all its promise.
BOOK # 3
outlines the community engagement methodologies employed throughout this project and chronicles the events and activities offered by the Reimagining Columbus project team, as well as findings from these conversations.
BOOK # 4
connects the project team’s research findings and community engagement results to the design principles that informed concepts for a new space in which residents might one day experience the reinstalled Christopher Columbus statue.
BOOK # 5
applies the design principles developed from research and community conversations, and best practices in placemaking, to articulate how a new statue site should look and feel, how visitors should be able to interact with it, and how it could engender profound experiences that reverberate for generations.
BOOK # 6
offers an Art Plan for City Hall Campus to guide the implementation of future public artworks there.
QR CODE
Original materials developed through this program are available at reimaginingcolumbus.com , or upon request.
Reimagining Columbus is funded by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, a multi-year commitment aimed at transforming the nation’s commemorative landscape to ensure our collective histories are more completely and accurately represented.
INTRODUCTION
Reimagining Columbus was fundamentally a community conversation to elicit the needs, concerns, and emotions behind residents’ perspectives on the city’s Christopher Columbus statue. As will be revealed, the team’s approach to this conversation differed somewhat from a typical planning process, to create safer spaces for more courageous sharing. That said, the overall structure of the process was similar, with the following types of opportunities for community members to offer their thoughts:
GROUP CONVERSATIONS & COMMUNITY EVENTS
The team hosted numerous public events, which varied widely in format and content, at which people were encouraged to meaningfully engage across boundaries of personal identity and experience.
AFFINITY-GROUP CONVERSATIONS
The team invited members of key affinity groups — Italian-American, Black, Latino, Young Adult, and Indigenous residents — to speak freely in intimate, vulnerable conversations.
WRITTEN FEEDBACK
The team provided opportunities for all community members to offer their insights anonymously and remotely, through written feedback at events and via an online survey.
Book 3 shares the activities and learnings from Reimagining Columbus’ engagement process, detailing the unique approach that elicited deeper insights than would otherwise have been possible. The feedback shared so generously by participants in this process, along with the learnings described in Book 2, were used to inform the final project design, including fundamental considerations regarding the statue’s disposition and the context into which it should be placed. The engagement activities filmed for this program are available at reimaginingcolumbus.com , or upon request.
Reimagining Columbus photographer and artist Abby Kamagate is responsible for all the images in this book, which were taken at project events between 2023–2025.
BOOK 3 MAIN IDEAS
• Community members were invited to share themselves and their perspectives on the city’s Columbus statue in many ways, from largescale public events to small, intimate conversations, over the course of Reimagining Columbus’ two-year engagement process.
• Conflict over the statue’s removal was animated by the different stories lived by the people who now call Columbus home, as well as their ancestors — reconciliation of which demanded a different type of community conversation that emphasized deep listening and healing.
• In acknowledgment that heightened emotions around the Columbus statue were about more than the statue itself, the team worked to create safer spaces for more courageous conversations about family, trauma, history, culture, and symbolism.
• Engagement conversations revealed a community deeply divided around most issues discussed.
• Participants in the engagement process did not change their minds during the course of it, or come closer on the question of how the statue should be handled, but they did grow to appreciate others’ perspectives and coalesced around some general principles that could be incorporated into the final site design concept.
THE 11TH HOUR PROPHECY
A prophecy attributed to an unnamed Hopi Nation elder was offered by our team’s Indigenous consultant, Shelly Corbin, to capture the spirit of community throughout the Reimagining Columbus process.
You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth. Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader. Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time. There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift, that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly Know the river has its destination.
The elders say, we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves.
For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the people we are waiting for!
ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES & QUESTIONS
The following activities allowed community members to participate in meaningful conversations regarding the Columbus statue, their family histories, and their experiences in the City of Columbus. This section describes the types of engagement opportunities offered through Reimagining Columbus and the questions asked of participants at each.
OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE
The following types of feedback opportunities were offered throughout the two-year Reimagining Columbus project period. All were led by facilitator Kimberly Danielle and/or Shelly Corbin, a member of the Lakota tribe, with support from Designing Local.
EVENTS
World Cafés
The team hosted events at which participants discussed three to four question prompts in small groups that rotated for each conversation.
Story Lab
The team hosted a panel discussion with five community members who shared personal experiences of how their families’ culture and heritage has been expressed over the generations and how this impacts them to this day.
Mound Walks
The team’s Indigenous consultant led guided nature walks to ancient Indigenous structures and spoke with participants about their cultural significance.
Create Your Own Monument Workshops
The team invited families with kids of all ages to use craft supplies to design monuments reflective of their values and memories.
Storyboarding + Indigenous Talking Circle
The team invited members of key affinity groups to intimate conversations in which they could freely share their thoughts.
Progressive Dinner
The team hosted a progressive dinner for past project participants at which they shared a five-course meal and discussed preliminary project outcomes before their public release.
Gallery Show
The team hosted an art exhibition featuring pieces by the Reimagining Columbus project artist and photographer, who created art inspired by all she had observed during the project.
Community Cookout
The team offered a cookout near the Leatherlips sculpture at Scioto Park and taught attendees about his life and legacy.
“Columbus Reimagined” Event
The team revealed final engagement outcomes and design renderings at an interactive community event that featured a naturalist and the reading of an Indigenous prophecy.
WRITTEN FEEDBACK
Survey & Postcards
The team offered an online community survey and blank postcards at each event that shared a set of five questions. Attendees could self-select which prompts they wanted to respond to, then place their responses anonymously in a mailbox at the event.
Butcher Paper
The team wrapped tables with butcher paper and provided markers that would allow participants to doodle and take notes during engagement events in order to capture their informal, spontaneous reactions to the content being discussed.
GROUP CONVERSATION
World Cafés
Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 6:00–8:00pm Columbus Metropolitan Library Downtown Branch
Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 5:30–7:30pm Columbus State Community College
ENGAGEMENT PROMPTS
• How has your cultural identity been affected by colonialism?
• How might you describe the essence of your culture at its worst and at its best?
• What challenging truths have been inherited in your culture that did not start with you?
• What methods or principles could you use from the history of your culture to heal within and across other communities?
GROUP CONVERSATION
Story Lab
How it Started, How it’s Going, and What’s Possible
Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 6:00–8:00pm The Ohio History Center
ENGAGEMENT PROMPTS
• How would your grandparents’ grandparents hope you are experiencing their culture?
• How would you respond to the idea coming up in some community conversations that people should get over things, stop living in the past, move on from what has happened?
• (Of the audience) What are you learning from hearing the panelists’ stories, in their own words?
• What would you like people to see when they see you and your culture?
Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera or click here to watch the recording of this event.
COMMUNITY EVENT
Mound Walks
Saturday, April 20, 2024, 2:00–4:00pm Highbanks Metro Park (Adena Mound)
Saturday, May 19, 2024, 10:00am–12:00pm Battelle Darby Metro Park (Voss Mound)
COMMUNITY EVENT
Create Your Own Monument Workshops
Saturday, April 27, 2024, 1:00–3:00pm
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Hilltop Branch
Sunday, April 28, 2024, 2:00–4:00pm
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Parsons Branch
COMMUNITY EVENT
Community Cookout
Monday, September 16, 2024, 5:00–8:00pm Chief Leatherlips Monument, Scioto Park (Dublin)
ENGAGEMENT PROMPTS
• What do you see in this space?
• Who do you think this art is for?
• What is the artwork doing?
• How and why might the interpretation of this artwork evolve over time?
COMMUNITY EVENT
Panel Discussion
Community Engagement Wrap-up
Monday, January 6, 2025, 6:00pm Columbus Museum of Art
Reimagining Columbus team members discussed the biggest takeaways from the project's community engagement activities.
Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera or click here to watch the recording of this event.
COMMUNITY EVENT
Gallery Show
Leave Good Soil , by project artist Abby Kamagate July 16, 2025, 5:30–7:30pm (through September 21) Pecha Projects at Brandt Gallery
COMMUNITY EVENT
“Columbus Reimagined” Event
Saturday, August 15, 2025, 4:30–7:30pm Whetstone Park
COMMUNITY EVENT
Progressive Dinner
Tuesday, May 20, 2024, 5:30–8:00pm Lincoln Theatre
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION
Talking Circle
Indigenous Residents
Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 4:00–6:00pm
Thompson Library, The Ohio State University
Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera or click here to watch the recording of this event.
Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera or click here to watch the recording of this event.
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION
Storyboarding Young Adults
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 5:30–7:30pm
Blockfort
ENGAGEMENT PROMPTS*
• What do you feel the statue represents?
• In what way do you connect with the statue (or not), and why?
• What do you fear about the statue being reinstalled?
• What symbols represent your culture? What matters to your culture?
• If a culture you identify with had a hero, who would it be, and why?
*These were the same across all Storyboarding sessions.
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION
Storyboarding
Latino Residents
Tuesday, June 11, 2024, 5:30–7:30pm Brandt Galleries
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION
Storyboarding
Black Residents
Tuesday, June 18, 2024, 4:00–6:00pm Lincoln Theatre
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION
Storyboarding
Italian-American Residents
Thursday, June 20, 2024, 5:30–7:30pm
St. John’s Catholic Church
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH
In recognition that conversations about the Columbus statue would challenge participants, the Reimagining Columbus engagement team planned a process that would accommodate their emotions about it but also, over time, forge a collective path forward. This section outlines the intention behind the team's choices and provides a guide for future engagement efforts, particularly ones that could prove contentious.
A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE
It was clear from the outset that conversations about the Columbus statue would be about far more than just the Columbus statue. Imprints from the different lived experiences of the city’s Indigenous, Black, and Italian-American communities would surely surface in these conversations. Heightened emotions around how Christopher Columbus connects to these histories would threaten to derail the entire process.
These histories and emotions would need to be constructively expressed before meaningful work to imagine a future for the statue could begin. As much as people wanted to get straight to talking — and arguing — about what should happen with it, the engagement team would need to facilitate the deeper sharing necessary to arrive at a statue disposition that could achieve widespread community acceptance. To accomplish this, they designed a process that went “from big to small to big” — that is, from larger community events, to intimate affinity-group conversations, and then back again to larger events. The early events probed big topics that informed questions for the smaller ones, and these more intimate conversations informed the design concepts that were presented to community members at later public events. This process was guided by the principles on the following pages.
See the final project video at reimaginingcolumbus.com for perspectives on this process and its outcomes from its two primary facilitators.
Reaching Backwards & Forwards
"You must reach back to reclaim that which is lost in order to move forward."
Reimagining Columbus’ engagement approach centered around sankofa , from the Akan people of Ghana, which literally translates to “go back and get it” and refers to the idea that progress requires applying lessons from the past. Sankofa is often represented by a bird with feet facing forward and its head facing backwards to retrieve an egg, a pose suggesting that the future can only be secured by acknowledging and learning from what has already happened.1 The engagement team, realizing that progress regarding the Columbus statue would necessarily be located in the histories of all those who cared about it, asked questions that probed these histories and invited people to share them. Conversation participants initially found it disorienting to be asked, for example, how their ancestors’ experience of colonization might be influencing their current perceptions of the statue — as opposed to simply “What should we do with the statue?” — but these questions allowed space for an inspiring, unexpected future to present itself.
FIGURE 2.0. Behemoth Digital, "Sankofa Adinkra African symbol for retrieval," Adobe Stock.
Having Safer Conversations
It was critical to the team that people who participated in the Reimagining Columbus engagement opportunities felt cared for and safe to be vulnerable while discussing difficult, emotionally fraught topics. The Nine Asks, a framework for creating safer, more courageous conversational spaces, was therefore practiced at the engagement events led by Kimberly Danielle, who developed the framework through her facilitation practice.
Inviting With Intention
The engagement team worked to engage both a broad swath of Columbus residents and the subset of residents most concerned with the Columbus statue — primarily those from the city’s ItalianAmerican, Indigenous, and Black communities. The team invited residents at large into conversation using traditional methods including project update emails, earned media, and social media.
The Italian-American community enthusiastically showed up at all events to express their anger about the statue’s removal and desire to have it reinstalled. Other groups, skeptical of the process, the pain it might cause, and what its outcomes might be, required more personal invitations. Before showing up, they needed to trust that they would be cared for during the conversation and that their feedback would actually be honored in the final project outcomes. Black and Indigenous community members, as well as college students and Hispanic residents, were offered the opportunity to join affinity group–based conversations and told explicitly how important it was for them to be in the room. Some still declined to participate, but sufficient care was taken with the invitation that some did, and their insights proved critical to the project's success.
THe 9 Asks.
1. Be as honest and vulnerable as possible.
The goal of the learning community atmosphere is to allow us to be as close to our whole selves as possible. In efforts to be true to each other during conversation, “don’t tell me what I want to hear”. Tell me the truth about what you think, how you feel and who you really are.
2 . Respect boundaries and thresholds.
There may be times when dialogue uncovers pain we do not desire to share or relive in the learning community. While being ever-vigilant of working toward stretching ourselves, we respect every individual’s right and discretion to avoid disclosure to the point of being put in harm’s way.
3. No judgment.
We have all self-selected and agreed to participate in the learning community. We understand that the format invites us to process different diversity lenses through our personal experiences. Because perception is reality, our experiences are not “wrong” – just different. We will work to treat the differences as opportunities to learn about perspectives alternative to our own.
4. Confidentiality.
Continued dialogue outside of the learning community is encouraged in efforts to aid others in becoming more comfortable with diversity dialogue. In efforts to honor the right that we own our own narratives, we will not mention the names of individuals in relation to statements made in the learning community in order to honor their privacy and confidentiality.
5. Come back to me.
Trust that we are making every effort to engage in an honest and appreciative dialogue in the learning community. There will be instances when we could benefit from more time to prepare our thoughts and responses before sharing. This may require a little patience from both of us and at moments, the acknowledgment that silence is also a voice.
6. Respect the process of learning the “right” language.
There will absolutely be times when we contribute to the conversation and the words/mannerisms may not be expressed in the most affirming manner. Know that we are approaching the process and the topic of discussion with the best of intentions. We will accept each other where we are and if possible, help each other in the process of reframing thoughts to be more affirming.
7. Take the time to listen first.
Sometimes in conversation – particularly ones in which we are passionately engaged – we have a habit of not waiting to speak. We acknowledge that there is diversity in the type of processors in the learning community (introverts and extroverts). We will try not to dominate discussions so that we can maximize the inclusion of all of our voices.
8. Permission to ask and/or decline.
Each learning community session should be viewed as a teachable moment. We are all each other’s teachers and students. As students, we reserve the right to ask questions in order to gain information that will help to broaden our perspectives. As teachers, we also reserve the right to decline answering if the inquiry poses a threat (perceived or real) to our boundaries and thresholds.
9. Stay in your seat.
When in heated discussions, it is natural to have verbal as well as nonverbal reactions. We will try to show up for conversations that we anticipate will be difficult to have. We will try to stay in the room and see the conversation through. We will also try to process communication in a way that is not verbally or physically threatening to our learning community members. Finally, we will also make thorough attempts to notice the body language and unspoken cues of those around us.
www.ReimaginingColumbus.com | www.kimistry.net | Kimberly Brazwell ® 2022
Grounding the Space
The engagement team was intentional to cultivate calm in the project’s conversational spaces and employed several strategies to lower the temperature on a contentious topic. The goals were to slow people down, force them to recognize they were engaging with fellow human beings, and increase their capacity for higher-level thinking. When possible, smaller rooms with natural light were selected, or nature itself; sterile spaces with indoor lighting made vulnerability more challenging to achieve. Each session began with a grounding exercise, an invitation to be present and leave behind that which would not serve the conversation.
Being in Community
It is uncommon in modern America for people to enact community with people different from themselves, and many are out of practice with doing so. Given this and the nature of the conversation, Reimagining Columbus facilitators shared themselves more openly than is typical of community engagement processes. Modeling vulnerability and revealing parts of themselves helped them earn the trust of participants who were initially skeptical of the engagement approach and afraid it would not address their concerns. Among those who participated across multiple events, meaningful relationships developed in unexpected ways. These relationships, and even those established more fleetingly during a single event, made it possible for people to honor others’ reality and even to shift their perspective based on new information they had heard.
Influencing the Design
In a choice atypical of most planning processes, Reimagining Columbus’ engagement team members were invited to sit in on design meetings and inform the designers’ approach. The community engagement and design phases of a design process are often distinct, and conducted by different team members, creating a possible schism between what the community has said it wants and what the design provides. In this case, however, the “holders of the stories” from engagement were key participants in the design process, ensuring that nothing was lost in the translation of those stories into a design concept.
ENGAGEMENT OUTCOMES
Through engagement conversations, deep divisions between participants surfaced, with cynicism about healing mixing with cautious optimism for a better future. This section summarizes what community members had to say — both about the Columbus statue and about their perceived place in history and society today.
OVERARCHING ENGAGEMENT THEMES
The statue of Christopher Columbus is not a neutral symbol. For many Italian-Americans, it represents pride, heritage, and their ancestors' contributions to the city's history. For Black, Latino, and especially Indigenous groups, it symbolizes genocide, slavery, colonialism, and white supremacy.
The impact of colonization, racism, and white supremacy is not an abstract concept to marginalized groups, but a felt, intergenerational trauma that influences their cultural identity and perception of the City of Columbus, whose leaders they do not believe will genuinely listen to their concerns. The engagement process to help determine what should be done with the Columbus statue was therefore undertaken with significant care. Community conversations throughout that process revealed a strong consensus that Christopher Columbus’ story should acknowledge both its positive and negative aspects, and feature the previously omitted narratives of marginalized communities. But what was also made clear is that people have largely moved on from monuments of individual “heroes” to a desire for their cultures to be expressed through community-oriented spaces, art installations, and natural elements that foster connection, healing, and shared experiences. These themes are explored in more depth on the pages that follow.
Full responses to each of the engagement prompts, and to the information provided via online public comments, the butcher paper on engagement event tables, and blank postcards, can be found in the Appendix beginning on page 93.
World Café 1
100–200 PARTICIPANTS
Columbus Metropolitan Library Downtown Branch
World Café 2
50–100 PARTICIPANTS
Columbus State Community College
Storylab
20–50 PARTICIPANTS
The Ohio History Center
Italian
20–25 PARTICIPANTS Latino
20–25 PARTICIPANTS Black
10–15 PARTICIPANTS Indigenous 10–15 PARTICIPANTS
College Students
5–10 PARTICIPANTS
Mound Walks
50–70 PARTICIPANTS
Adena & Voss Mounds
Progressive Dinner
40–50 PARTICIPANTS
Lincoln Theatre
Columbus Reimagined
100–150 PARTICIPANTS
Whetstone Park
Monument Workshops
10–20 PARTICIPANTS
Various library locations
Gallery Show
100–120 PARTICIPANTS
Brandt Gallery
Community Cookout
100–150 PARTICIPANTS
Chief Leatherlips Monument, Scioto Park
POSTCARD & SURVEY RESPONSES
Engagement participants were provided postcards on which they could anonymously submit written feedback. Some postcards were entirely blank, but the others each featured one of five questions and a blank back for the response; participants were free to select which they felt called to respond to. These five questions were repeated in the online survey.
What do you feel the statue represents?
This question elicited starkly different responses from respondents who claimed that Christopher Columbus represents Italian pride, and that modern historians have distorted his legacy, and many others who view Columbus as a symbol of the many horrors of colonization.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“Simply, the namesake of our city, a brave explorer of the time, and a typical human of his era.”
“The statue represents the positive impact of the greatest explorer bringing the Renaissance and Western Civilization to the New World. His path is the path that European immigrants followed including Italians who championed Columbus Day and dedicated Columbus monuments across America.”
“Genocide! Murder, rape, and mutilation.”
What do you fear about the statue being reinstalled?
Some respondents claimed their only fears were having the statue remain in storage, or having it reinstalled and then defaced; if these outcomes occurred, they would feel like their culture and contributions were being erased or disrespected. Most others, however, had deep fears about the extremism and racial violence that reinstalling the statue would unleash in the community. They also feared that they would have been made fools of by participating in an engagement process that, once again, disregarded their concerns. And they feared having to live and raise children in a place that had actively chosen to celebrate a figure that caused its most vulnerable members such pain.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“It is now a culture war symbol and will empower the white supremacist groups of Ohio.”
“I do not fear anything. Any state or town that has a Columbus statue should keep it exactly the way it is. Those statues should not be torn down or replaced. These statues need to be protected and people need to be taught not to harm statues. People need to be taught that history is what it is and if a statue was made of a famous historical figure it is because that historical figure had good qualities that everyone should look up to.”
“I only fear that the statue may be defaced. My recommendation is to place a plaque by the statue describing both his accomplishments as well as his shortcomings. What good is history if not to learn from it.”
“I fear my daughter growing up in a community that promotes colonialism + white supremacy.”
“It'd be kinda cringe lmao.”
“Signaling an unwillingness to learn and change. If we can’t make symbolic change, how can we make systematic change?”
If a culture you identify with had a hero, who would that be?
Some community members offered specific historic figures in response to this question — including Christopher Columbus, but more often those who had fought for social justice — while others rejected the idea of “hero worship” altogether, or indicated a preference for celebrating everyday heroes like essential workers.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“Emma Goldman and Emma Lazarus both fought tirelessly and at great risk for social justice.”
“Cristoforo Colombo sailed the path (4 times) that Italian immigrants followed. He even was close to being named a saint!”
“I don't believe in hero-based leadership. I believe in the community, the land, and the pursuit of equilibrium with nature.”
“An animal or non-human symbol. They can't be exposed and disappoint me.”
What symbols represent your culture?
People across all cultures offered foods as the symbols that best reflect them, and many highlighted markers of their connection to the natural environment. Others cited symbols associated with America, Ohio, or the City of Columbus; some people mentioned intangible qualities they associate with people of their culture.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“nature....nature.....the earth and the physical environment. our respect for Mother Earth and our care for her.”
“Love, community, family, art.”
“Nobody leaves the house hungry. Have some pasta, take some home!”
“Christopher Columbus is THE symbol that represents Italian American culture. What matters to our culture: Family, God, Country, Loyalty.”
“Cornbread, banana pudding, hot coffee, even in the summertime. I’m from the south, and to be honest, people care more about food than flags. Let’s get monuments of these.”
In what way do you connect with the statue (or not)?
Italian-American respondents stood at odds with other community members in terms of whether and how they connected with the Columbus statue. The statue connects Italians to their grandparents and great-grandparents, and fills them with pride at how they persevered against discrimination to contribute beautiful things to their adopted home in America. Many others strongly reject a connection with the statue on the grounds that Columbus is a man who committed brutal violence that should not be celebrated. Some participants had more neutral perspectives, for example saying that they simply do not connect with statues at all, or that they connect with the statue because it represents the city and its relationship with Sister City Genoa, Italy.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“I am Italian American and this statue makes me feel seen and heard as part of the development of our nation. I think sadly contributions of Italian Americans are often overlooked.”
“No connection, I don't connect with statues.”
“I do not personally connect with the statue and see it as a statue commemorating a racist, genocidal, colonizer, who never stepped foot on this land.”
“It is the namesake of our city. Why would we abandon it?”
AFFINITY GROUP CONVERSATION THEMES
Participants in the five affinity group conversations — with members of the Italian-American, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Young Adult communities — were each asked the same five questions, responses to which are summarized in this section.
What do you perceive as the “they” in comparison (or opposition) to your affinity identity?
People across all affinity groups considered “they” to be those with different worldviews and value systems than them, and those who are misinformed or ignorant about what their life is like. Those from marginalized communities further indicated that “they” are people who possess various forms of power and privilege, particularly along lines of race, gender, sexual identity, and class, that members of these communities do not.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“Ones who don't listen to understand”
“White people”
“Privileged conservatives”
“Soros, the extreme left”
“Young politically correct radicals”
“Older generation”
“Anyone outside my cultures”
Do “they” see you? If so, when they see you, what do you think they see?
Universally, participants expressed frustration that “they” view them as objects or stereotypes, not as full, complex human beings. Those from marginalized communities also believed that “they” perceive them as a threat, whether to their physical beings or to the power structures that allow “them” to assert their agendas over everyone else. Many feel unseen and undervalued apart from what they can provide to “them” — the people with power and privilege — in the form of their labor or cultural products.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“Just another black man”
“Just a body”
“Like our food, not us”
“They see one tribe, we are all one to them. They see teepees.”
“Cheap labor”
“Criminals (mafia)”
“Infestation”
“Femi-nazi”
When YOU see you, the cultural symbols and markers you see are…
People tended to view themselves and those who share their culture(s) positively, citing the good values and qualities they consider representative of who they are. Otherwise, the cultural symbols they most often volunteered had to do with creative expression, natural landscapes, and physical characteristics.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“A lineage of men trying to get it right”
“Hugs through thick and thin”
“Pride parades and floats”
“Home for dinner”
“Black excellence”
“Interconnection. Homeland, four sacred mountains.”
“Empanadas”
If you see the statue again, you will think, feel, act, or believe…
This question revealed deep divisions across the affinity groups, with Italian-Americans claiming they would feel pride, vindication, and relief, and other groups saying they would feel anger, disappointment, and betrayal. Those from marginalized communities said they would feel history was repeating itself and that historic traumas of erasure and exploitation were being reactivated in them. All expressed concern that their voices would not have mattered, that the entire engagement process would have been a performative waste of time because their community was not listened to. Many people felt a reinstalled statue could provide a means of educating people about the “full story” of Columbus.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“The white man won AGAIN”
“Manipulated and fooled”
“Pride in being an italian and what a fellow italian did for history”
“The city is not committed to change.”
“White folk being white folk”
“‘eh’ because we are conditioned to ignore instead of being offended”
“Tired”
Imagine it is 2124. What might be the best way to tell the story of the statue 100 years from now (words, symbols, artifacts, proximity)?
When the stories of the statue and its subject are told in the future, people foremost said they want them to be a factually accurate account (though they disagree as to what the truth is). They would like for both stories to be properly contextualized in the histories of Christopher Columbus and the City of Columbus, with multiple perspectives represented for a more complete picture of the explorer and his legacies. Many would prefer if the story referenced what had happened in the past, not something still ongoing in the present. Some offered that the stories would best be told in a museum setting.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“Some people fabricated a reason to promote their hate and made a statue a scape goat”
“Remember when the city was called ‘Columbus?’"
“That at the time, the US was racist and built on lies, death, and appropriation”
“The monument is not a singular story”
“Experience leads you to a new story”
“Show Columbus as lost, but also that he found something great”
If you had a space to create a large symbol of your culture and identity, what would you put there?
Respondents de-emphasized traditional monuments in favor of more dynamic, participatory, and holistic approaches to representing cultural identity in public space. People reported wanting opportunities for community gathering and connection, not static displays, as well as storytelling that honored everyday heroes and multiple perspectives. They would prefer to see their heritage expressed primarily through nature and art.
REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSES
“A place our ancestors feel welcome to visit”
“Something of the shared experience of humanity”
“Not a statue of a person.”
“Large family celebrating with food, music, wine”
“A place where I feel small”
“Interactive maze with a new culture at every turn”
“Sculptures of a sunrise over the water with a ship sailing into it”
“Immersive in Nature”
CONCLUSION
Book 3 of the Reimagining Columbus Final Report describes the process through which community members were engaged in conversation about the future disposition of City of Columbus’ Christopher Columbus statue — but first, about seemingly unrelated topics including colonization, generational trauma, family, culture, and identity. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, and the heightened emotions they evoked, engagement team leaders offered an approach that allowed for safer, more courageous sharing than is typically possible through such processes. They encountered a deeply divided community, as expected. But over time, as participants engaged with one another and allowed themselves to be vulnerable in their sharing, relationships formed and perspectives began to shift. In the words of one facilitator:
“People are not used to disagreeing constructively. They are not used to being actively in community with people different from them. This process was an exercise in modeling what community is and could be.”
At the conclusion of the community engagement process, it would be inaccurate to say that participants had changed their stance on the Columbus statue or that they had coalesced around an idea of what to do with it. However, their authentic experiences of community throughout created space for them to trust that the final project outcomes would honor their concerns. Book 4 traces how the Reimagining Columbus project team used feedback from these community conversations to begin conceptualizing a new space for the Columbus statue that would indeed honor everyone who so bravely shared themselves during this engagement process.
APPENDIX & SOURCES
The following responses were gathered throughout the engagement process. See p. 94 for Affinity Group Responses, p. 114 for Online Public Comments, p. 116 for Blank Postcard Responses, p. 119 for Postcard & Survey Responses, and p. 134 for Butcher Paper Notes. Responses have been transcribed as written, though most spelling errors have been corrected.
AFFINITY GROUP RESPONSES
What do you perceive as the “they” in comparison (or opposition) to your affinity identity?
• The oppressors
• White people
• Older white men
• White men
• Older people
• Male business owners
• Old residents
• Those who don't "get it"
• Those too uncomfortable being uncomfortable
• The public
• Rich people
• People in power
• Women
• Uneducated
• Unread
• Parents
• People who think social media is real life
• Lack awareness
• Ones who don't listen to understand
• Politicians
• Stiff-hearted
• Christians
• Those whom have not examined their shit
• Religious leaders
• The wealthy
• Those who aren't rooted in selfhood
• Closed minded people
• Men
• The unaware
• Uninformed decision makers
• Privileged conservatives
• Closed minded individuals
• The establishment
• Non-liberals
• Non Arts people
• Straight people
• Family
• Those clomping on misinformed info
• Indigenous harmed community
• Mayor and city officials
• Non-italians
• The woke community
• Government
• Those who have not studied the history
• Young voters (not experienced)
• Groups (cultural and others) who have loudest voices, always heard and reported on
• Vocal minority
• African americans
• Soros, the extreme left
• Biased individuals
• “They” dwell on the past and not on the future
• African americans
• Professional complainers
• City hall
• People who disrespect folks who built columbus
• Young politically correct radicals
• Uninformed groups who don’t know history of columbus
• The city of columbus government
• Non-italians
• Power Brokers who have an agenda for a city that only meets their needs.
• City officials, locals with no knowledge of who columbus was and what he did historically
• I, me… there is no “they” opposing me
• MYOPIC individuals
• Local politicians
• City government that didn’t consider historic italian community.
• Hypocrites who don’t look at the large pictures
• Not being heard
• Uninformed
• Americanas
• Politicians at all levels
• Narrow Minded people
• Historically ignorant
• Anglo americans
• “They” are people who don’t know the cultural aspects of the italian-american experience
• Woke culture
• Uninformed individuals
• Soros & company, the left
• “They” speak without understanding
• The mayor
• Politicians
• Indigenous people
• Those who refuse to accept the opinions and needs of others.
• Revisionists
• Other c.c groups
• Indigenous peoples
• Columbus political leaders
• Mayor and city officials
• No one. We are all equal
• Nearly all white adjacent men with wealth/power
• They = Blacks who don’t want to align w/ their culture
• Nearly all white men with wealth/power
• Those who are not marginalized
• They = white culture
• Nearly all white women with wealth/power
• Proponents of white supremacy
• Politicians
• White supremacy politics
• White people
• Nearly all white adjacent women with wealth/ power
• They = dominant culture
• They = administration
• 1%
• White people
• White men
• White men
• Spiritless
• Closed minded people
• Rich
• They = white supremacy concepts
• Junior partners AKA (Black + Brown) folks who actively uphold oppressive systems
• Nearly all white men who are poor, scared, angry + women + white adjacent men and
• women
• Non-educators
• Dominant culture
• C-suite leaders
• City officials
• Scared people
• Evil people
• They = white women
• Capitalist
• Folks not from the culture
• White women
• They = white men
• Government - government local, state, federal
• White folks
• Men
• Neoliberal Capitalist
• Cis-het
• Colonizers, Oppressors, Men
• Homophobe
• Homophobe
• Multi-national Capital
• Haters of vegetarians
• Folks who believe in settlement
• Euro centric folks
• White conservative
• Conservative eurocentric
• Society/community
• People who think colonization is a thing of the past
• Conservative
• Conservative, alt-right, white supremacist
• People who ban CRT
• Pilgrims
• Colonizers, capitalists, individualists, self-made man, people with closed minds
• Older generation
• Materialists
• Homophobe
• Misogynists
• MAGAs
• Rights & protection
• Capitalists
• Anti-DEI
• Racists
• Eurocentrists
• Religious groups
• Extremists
• Racists
• Government
• Appropriations
• Conservative
• Xenophobic
• Anti-immigrant
• Righteous Christians
• Stakeholders- people who make the decisions to put statue there in the first place
• Non-Natives
• Not us - non-Natives
• Colonizers
• They is anyone who does not identify as Indigenous
• Outsiders
• Anyone outside my cultures
• Policy makers
• I hope they dont see trauma & the bad statistics
• Non-Indigenous
• Oppressor
• Mainstream, Non-Native
• I am a sacred person
• Outsiders
• That is a very deep question- I think it varies based on circumstance
• Those who oppose life
Do they see you? If so, when “they” see you, what do you think they see?
• Little girl
• Angry woman
• POC
• Judgemental
• "DIfferent"
• Lack of independancy
• Dumb blonde
• "Woke"
• Lack of intelligence
• "Emotional"
• lack control of emotions
• Liberal
• Angry
• They see sex organs
• Serious person
• Pessimist
• They see me. They see uncharted humanhood
• Un-educated
• Just another black man
• Standoff-ish
• They see a squeaking raven
• "Lock the car"
• Angry
• Oppressed
• Loud and black
• Clueless
• They see me. They see disruption
• Judgemental
• Big attitude
• Just a body
• Privilege
• Flashy
• Outsider
• Non believer
• :Be careful around her"
• Object
• They see me. They see a problem for their agenda
• They see a body to control
• Elitist
• Don't belong here
• Italian-American
• See italians as the history of columbus, not the future
• Politically insignificant
• Closed minded traditionalists
• Old, not progressive
• Closed minded
• They do not care to find out what people think
• Outspoken
• Oppositional (opposing viewpoints)
• Loud
• Trustworthy
• angry/bitter
• People who are not progressive enough
• Traditional
• They see differences and not communities
• “They” see that I am a synoptic and look at issues from diverse perspectives
• “They” see me as a threat to their values
• We aren’t just restaurants, groceries, construction
• Mafia–i have heard people say they wish they were italian
• Loud, fiery, passionate
• Some see the italians of the godfather movies
• They don’t see me–didn’t try to see me
• Some see italians as proud hardworking with strong family values
• Why that reaction, not cooperative, willing to go with flow
• Accessible
• Like our food, not us
• They do not see the great historical work of columbus as a navigator
• Uncompromising
• Yes, they see us, but are caught up in the “woke” movement and questionable historical
• “facts”
• Politicians and power brokers only see us as donors
• Too proud
• No–old world, outdated, columbusites
• They see someone whose values are to be crushed
• They don’t care what they see
• We aren’t the mafia
• People closed minded to our italian concerns
• Open minded
• Stubborn
• Do not see us
• For “me”... “they” see “me” as a human being!
• Inferiors
• Rigid
• I do not care what they think about me, I care what they say about columbus
• No, they do not see us
• They see someone whom they disrespect
• They have little concern if a different point of view is respected
• Mobsters
• Stereotypes: mafia, our tones
• Stubbornly clinging to false narrative
• No! They don’t look
• Criminals (mafia)
• Warm hearted
• Bible heater
• Assumptions
• -2%
• Nothing
• Depending on their need
• Stupid
• Their erasure
• Aggression
• They
• Disruptor of the norm
• Threat
• The other
• Not them
• Code switching
• Beauty
• Conflict
• Non-conforming
• Other
• Troublemaker
• No they don’t see my truest self. They see personification of their fear and ignorance
• Confusion
• A non-white female
• Cost
• Emotions
• Judgement
• Fear
• Angry black woman
• Inferiority
• Invisible
• Criminal
• Love
• An activist
• Niggas
• Threat
• Expendable
• Non-conformance
• Power
• Ghetto
• They don’t see me!
• Educated black woman
• Dehumanization
• Weakness
• Less than
• No
• Not a “black” woman
• Black woman
• Not the one in charge
• Naive
• Yes, a barrier
• Weakness
• Woke
• Scare
• Taker
• Abomination
• Young
• Radical
• Commi
• Troublemaker
• Femi-nazi
• Radicals, threatening, uncomfortable, too-much, too-loud, too-opinionated
• Idealistic
• Agitators
• Caliente
• Difficult
• Ungrateful
• Exotic
• Predator
• Hot tempered
• A toy
• Alien
• Not from here
• Different values
• Unexperienced
• Uneducated
• Fiery
• Ignorant
• Passionate
• Workforce
• Cheap
• Exploitable
• People of Color
• Brave
• Impoverished
• Suffering
• Learn English
• Unfortunate
• Dangerous
• Weird
• It depends on how uncomfortable I make them
• Someone that may be stronger and harder worker as they are
• Different values
• Invisible
• Needs to be silenced
• Illegal
• Loud
• Weak
• Loud
• Not like other Mexicans "well-educated"
• Ignorant
• Ignorant
• Loud and Angry
• Sexy
• Bad for their children
• Sexualized
• Entertainment
• Infestation
• Illegal
• Drug dealers
• Undeserving
• Lack of sense of humor
• Rapists
• An Accent
• Groomers
• Takers
• Family oriented
• Hard working
• Good dancers
• Cheap labor
• Culture
• Harmful
• Dishonest
• Pitiful
• Competitor
• Powerful, race
• Liberal
• Latina
• Ungrateful
• Exotic
• Stupid
• Not fitting
• Ungrateful, lazy, low work ethic
• Leech
• Good cooks
• Poor
• I'm not sure; mostly due to being from an outside perspective. I dont think of myself as represented
• They see savages that need to die, becomes slaves or get out of the way
• Minority (Native American POC) Judged by appearance
• I think they see me as a woman who serves men
• Savager
• Not me
• Only see one Native culture, not all
• They see one tribe we are all one to them. They see teepees
• Bruce Lee
• Anyone who isn't me. As a woman, the men. Indigenous women different views.
• They see Indigenous people as part of the American history but do not see indigenous history and views: They see us as people who are separate from the general public.
• Experienced
• Stereotyped movies and mascots
• I don't care I am myself
• Someone who is comfortable being an outsider
• They do. They see someone who is Native, soft and weak
• Most of us are so wrapped up in our heads we only see each other either as with us or against us
• Not us
When YOU see you, the cultural symbols and markers I see are…
• Big curly hair
• Calm, e.g. waves
• Hijab
• Good Dads
• Complete creative express
• Modesty inside and out
• Kindness beneath the RBF
• Good character
• Good food
• Short hair
• Brave
• Good people
• Watches
• Big reader
• Dog Mom
• Jewelry as art
• beads, natural beauty
• Kindness
• Hard working
• Providing all my family needs
• Humble
• Strength
• Empowered mama
• AcceptingPride parades and floats
• No patience for ignorance
• Eyebrows and intense eyes
• Italian food
• Foreign films
• Worthy of love
• Loyalty to self and people I care for
• Playfulness / Humor
• Sneaker
• Tattoos
• Music
• Laughter
• Hanging with my sister
• Outgoing
• Friendly
• Music
• Vibes
• Talent
• Painter
• Eye contact to show connection
• Good listener
• Sports mom
• Hard working mothers
• Compassion
• Help a stranger
• Intentionality
• Tine, quality, experience
• Kindness
• Celebration
• Cares about animals
• Bald head
• Home grown
• Mental health and rooted health
• Confident, kind, and brave children
• Memories
• Expertise
• Mother
• Artist
• Unapologetic
• Confidence
• Stand tall
• Creativity
• Mother centered
• Trees, mountains, large bodies of water, nature's symbols
• Well dressed
• Funny, cartoons
• Healthy/Good food
• Home for dinner
• Bright colors
• Scarves with a story
• Quiet confidence
• Peaceful and graceful
• The difference changemakers
• A good friend
• Hugs through thick and thin
• Family
• Knowledge, explorers, risk takers, game changers
• We go crazy about the astronauts–columbus did much more for this world
• I “see” history, shared experience
• Hardworking people
• The italians made columbus a successful city because of the work done by italians that
• came here
• Religious
• Family
• Integrity above all
• Ancestors that struggle
• Welcoming, hospitable, caring
• Passionate, as well as compassionate
• Respect
• People who respect each other
• Respect. Family, culture, acceptance of other
beliefs
• Passion for food and life
• Culture and history
• Pride passed down
• Supportive community
• Tradition, family
• Hard work, virtue, suffering, perseverance, excellence
• Discrimination, hard work, achievements, excellence, virtue
• Personal relationships
• Professional people
• Hardworking people
• Lovers of art and music
• Italian festival
• Warm and welcoming
• Cultural affinity
• Family above all else
• Community
• A sense of history
• A community of values
• Family oriented
• Catholicism, faith
• Foods
• Embracing
• The culture of columbus was founded on the work italians did when they came here
• Family
• Celebrations
• Close knit, people who are prone to emotional outbursts, yet will eventually be reasonable
• Proud people who love family, food, faith, honor, and respect
• Proud
• Hardworking
• Family centered
• Religious (catholic)
• Fun, loving
• Traditional
• Heritage
• Camaraderie
• Passionate
• Hardworking
• Artistic
• Hardworking, energetic
• Lotsa food
• Pride in art and knowledge, leadership
• We put unity in community
• Belief in “The American Dream”
• Acceptance
• The mountaintop
• Success
• Pride
• Not working past 5 pm
• A lineage of men trying to get it right
• Rebel
• Game changers
• Insecurities
• Bold
• Non-conforming
• Going against grain
• Knowing my worth
• Liberation
• Innovators
• Fearlessness
• Vulnerability
• Survivor
• Freedom
• Dot connector
• Smile
• Freckles
• Hope
• Acceptance
• Humor
• History
• Joy
• Love
• Light
• Healed
• Creator
• Beautiful black woman
• Peacemaker
• Healing
• Whole
• Wealth
• Power
• Smart
• Integrity
• Honesty
• Spiritual
• Lifter up of their hands
• A person that can get shit done
• Future
• Beauty
• Faith
• Colors
• Inclusion
• Hope dealer
• Flawlessly fully human
• I am Me, Love Culture
• World builders
• Culture
• Smile
• History
• Joy
• Peace
• Ancestral energy
• Intensity
• Light
• Past grief
• Promise
• Black excellence
• Affection
• Art
• Creativity
• Love
• Perseverance
• Joy
• Peace
• Unrealized potential
• Hope
• Beauty
• Deep thinker
• Sears
• Unity
• Culture
• Fabulous!
• Craftsmanship
• Family oriented
• Flavourful
• Great Mother
• Community
• Love, Music, Food
• Family oriented
• United
• Hard working
• Strong
• Strong
• Respect
• Spirituality
• Loyalty
• Great food
• Rhythm
• Community
• Giving
• Stubborn
• Great leader
• Brilliant
• Connected to nature
• Matriarcal
• Lively
• Family oriented
• Culture
• Morals
• Diverse
• Family
• Language with other dialect
• Open
• Interconnected
• Ancestral history
• Interconnected and multicultural
• Diaspora
• Multiracial
• Lonely
• Fashionable
• Defensive
• Gay
• Bilingual
• Passionate
• Vibrant
• Story Tellers
• Humor
• Laughter
• Fun
• Redlined
• Feminist
• Machismo
• Intersectional
• Survivors of grief
• Racism
• Colorism
• Classist
• Racism
• Indigenous
• Double standards
• Affectionate
• Affectionate
• Ethnocentric
• Values
• Ethical
• Life
• Risk takers
• Curly hair
• Complex
• Good mom
• Ingenuity
• Azúcar
• Nose
• Creative
• Opportunity
• Colorful
• Dedicated
• Coffee
• Loyalty
• Community
• Strength
• Musicians
• Taking care of each other and our elders
• Musicians
• Loyalty
• Caldero
• Profound
• Lively and loud
• Ancestors
• Bravery
• Musical instruments
• Corn
• Proud
• Hunger
• Patriotic
• Family
• Chancla
• Risk taking
• Hard working
• Different
• Sexist
• Coqui
• History
• Inclusive
• Multiracial
• Innovative
• Agave
• Gold mine
• Special
• Diverse
• Hard working
• Mi casa Su casa
• Pained
• Good food
• Resistance
• Stubborn
• Instruments
• Interconnected
• Hope
• Bilingual
• Vibrant
• Creative
• Curvy
• Abuela poems
• Caregiving
• Colorist
• Gold mine
• Arepas
• Strong women
• Matriarch
• Colorism
• Innovators
• Creators
• Arepas
• Indigenous
• Discriminatory
• Religious
• Contradictory
• Agave
• Maguey
• Hospitable
• Dancing
• Hospitable
• Groya
• Empanadas
• Silver, plata
• Gold
• I see myself represented diversely - a mixture of different cultures
• Wholeness interconnections, relationships
• Categorization, romanticizing, generalizing, misconception
• Navajo storm, rug, useful, visually pleasing, and culturally symbolic
• Interconnection. Homeland, four sacred mountains
• Pueblo, Navajo or one group of people
• The desert southwest
• Mix of symbols, all mix Pueblo, all together
• I think about my hair, especially in a bun, & what it represents to Navajo people
• As an indigenous woman "A materialistic symbol from a maternal society"
• Indigenous ideas/knowledge. Traditional jewelry/ clothing design
• My icon is a dog
• Light through love, food, and math
If you see the statue (again), you will think, feel, act, or believe…
• Invalidated
• Why?
• The white man won AGAIN
• Missed opportunity
• Curious as to why
• I was given false hope for change
• Wouldn't acknowledge it
• They didn't hear from everyone
• Theatrical manipulation
• Believe that the community wasn't listened to by the city again
• Where's the Fred Hampton statue?
• What is the importance of bringing it back?
• What other stories are being shared with Chris?
• Of all historic figures, you forever idolized a terrorist
• Who else can we honor?
• City leaders of circus monkeys
• Why?
• I bet he can't find it
• Going backward
• They got it wrong
• Hand held community off a cliff
• I wonder what the fine would be
• Manipulated and fooled
• Cycles of oppression
• Moving backward, why not bring something new?
• Easy way out
• 3.5 Million for what?
• Pain recycled
• Sympathy for those affected
• Symbol of abuse basking in the sun
• Pride
• Happy it’s back up
• Proud
• Saddened
• Vindication
• Our society has considered all perspectives and “it’s all good”
• Heard, respected, honored, humbles
• “Woke movement” has been met by a more reasonable perspective. Probably the mayor has left office
• What was accomplished by removing?
• Think - Depends on where, etc.
• Act - Look at it
• Believe - Any hope
• One for the good guys!
• Better if back at city hall where it belongs
• Feel - where is it?
• act - look
• Believe - hope?
• Feel different (taking other people’s feelings into account)
• Pride in a recognition of history
• Satisfaction that a process succeeded
• Pride in the connection of italy to the history of america
• Remember all the hardworking italian ancestors who built columbus
• Happy we respected our sister city, Genoa, Italy
• A hard fought dispute
• Pride in being an italian and what a fellow italian did for history
• Glad columbus got recognized for the role he played in history and geography
• Pride in being an italian
• Proud of our italian heritage
• At least the city idiots didn’t throw it away
• Call/text friends and family
• Stop for a photo
• I’ll believe it when I see it. Given what happened, I doubt we will see it again
• Relieved it is up, concerned of its safety
• I can be a proud italian with or without a statue. But relish others seeing it.
• Adventure with unknown results
• Honored
• Explorer
• Proud, honored
• Power through fear
• Dance
• Perhaps people are complex, “right” and “wrong” change as society evolves. Accept the good and learn from the bad
• Compare new location to city hall prominent?
• They heard us and got it finally
• Original values that was implied when it was erected had been respected
• Proud, shows celebration of italian-american heritage
• Reimagined columbus
• An adjusted america
• Celebrate
• Relieved
• Proud
• Disappointed if relegated to an insignificant area
• Proud if in a place of honor
• Disrespected
• Change the name of the city
• Exhausted
• White people. SMH
• Where’s waldo
• Tired
• Columbus does not love our children
• Tag it
• The city is not committed to change.
• Think: par for the course
• Think & Feel: The city is committed to upholding genocide and colonization
• Act: like it doesn’t exist
• Nothing
• Some realization of the historical aspects of a pioneer
• Weak leadership
• Think and feel city is committed to white supremacy
• Moral injury
• Angry
• The power of some affinity groups
• Why????
• Revisionist history!
• Hate
• No change
• Clarity on columbus political climate
• Weak leaders
• Our voice did not matter
• It was transactional and NOT transformational
• Disrespected
• The power of untruths
• Heartbreaking to work that was done in 2020
• history repeating itself
• Misleading story
• Angry
• Confusion
• Disrespect
• Shock but not disbelief
• They hate us
• White folk being white folk
• Here we go again
• My existence is inferior/less than italians
• Proud
• Boooo
• History
• Hate
• Childhood memories
• Question
• Disrespected
• Uneasy
• Columbus is Columbus again
• Concerned
• Back to our roots
• Value
• Like I'm living in an idiocracy
• Justify why it's there
• Dismissed
• Home
• That it's random
• History
• Disappointed
• Unheard
• Look for an explanation
• That it's irrelevant
• Unheard
• Re-colonized
• Look for an explanation
• Outrage
• Defensive
• Embarrassed
• Money wasted
• Conflicted
• Recolonized again
• Feel confused
• Conflicted
• Uncertain
• Curious
• Indifference
• Indifferent
• Sick, disgusted, mad
• Angry, whitewashing history, not telling whole story of American history
• Why would it be taken away in the first place? What does that represent?
• Disgusted, feelings to forget about the statue, Believe he should be forgotten
• It is a reminder of the bad history
• Walk past it. Ignore it. Doesn't mean anything to me.
• Anger, disassociated, sad- our land is lost
• Indifferent because we are the most powerful country
• Reminders of history. Can't deny he did all to me in the name of god they wiped us from US history
• I would feel unsure due to the meaning behind the statue. I feel the whole story needs to be told to present the people with the meaning
• It would feel like a start to change for us Indigenous people
• "eh" because we are conditioned to ignore instead of being offended
• Disgust
• Mostly I hope they are being removed
• Don't erase the history; but teach others; should teach all versions of history from different perspectives
• Stupid
• I feel: why? Anger. Peace.
• No one cares about Native Americans
• Anger, disappointment, shame
Imagine it is 2124. What might be the best way to tell the story of the statue 100 years from now? (words, symbols, artifacts, and proximity)
• We found a better way
• The statue - but with the truth about who Columbus was and did
• We found a way to represent our city, for everyone
• Indigenous context of Columbus's story
• Amongst other stories of immigration
• A cage that encapsulated original statue, a counter argument
• If you are seeing this, we failed you!
• The real story, the POV from Native Americans
• An immortalized and fictitious story
• No longer a focal point
• New priorities
• An expanded art collection that contains other cultural symbols
• Now we honor the stories, not the myth/legend
• Both a celebration and a reflection
• Statue was a gift from sister city to honor and respect
• Legacy
• Gifted navigator
• Symbol of italian americans
• Was a gift from genoa italy to our sister city columbus
• A great navigator we named the city for
• Honoring one group that formed america
• Discovery of america
• They listened to others and followed without doing their own
• By telling the history of what columbus did as a navigator for history
• Some people fabricated a reason to promote their hate and made a statue a scape goat
• Research
• Recognition and explanation of that period of world history
• The statue provides proud look at our city’s ability to succeed
• Lots of history over the 100 years
• Pros and cons about columbus
• The statue stands proud for city but city officials made huge mistakes
• Many italians were honored
• It’s all in the program from 1955
• 100 years minus 5 years in a warehouse
• Columbus has been vindicated as an enlightened community in which all come together
• Something else is the big problem now
• Put up in honor by revisionist, protest restored after cooler heads prevailed
• Statue in its original space and honor perseverance and excellence
• The people of the time did not study history
• Statue in its original place and honored perseverance
• The italians were never considered
• Keep what columbus did and didn’t do in historical context
• The statue could be seen from many perspectives, spiritually and socially
• Statue was a focal point for an awakening in society
• Christopher columbus made a challenging journey, and so has this statue
• This statue symbolizes adventure, exploring new horizons
• We need to teach history throughout the ages for all generations
• The story of columbus is a vital part of history just as every other part of history
• Columbus was a navigator not finding lands to steal from indigenous people like pilgrims
• The italians were never heard
• Moving in a way to overcome your fears
• Cultural experiences
• His significance historically (accurately represented)
• His importance to the italian american community
• Statue deserves its own space to highlight individuals it represents
• Compared to moon landing, travel to an unknown destination
• List his accomplishments as well as the sacrifices
• Things can become more than you ever dreamed
• Put wheels on it so it’s easier next time mayor moves it
• Exemplify spirit of human discovery, exploring, etc.
• Developers building a new community rec center discoursed a buried statue of colonizer Christopher Columbus
• The italians kept the statue to their commemorate their history. Every year they bring it out at their festival
• Symbol of white supremacy
• Are we still talking about this
• Are we not further in thinking about humanity
• Acknowledge that ignorance won
• I assume peace has returned to Earth and this is now important
• Once upon a time the city was called Columbus and had a statue commemorating it, now it’s no more
• Let’s hope we’ve resolved this issue
• Truth
• Buries underground w/ hallow eyes and when you look into the eyes you see the ugliness that he caused
• If the truth is going to be told, let the artist tell it… visually and musically
• Tell the naked truth
• Known PSAs about how and why this city’s name was changed in 2025. We tell it because we’re proud of our progress
• Facts
• Tell the story but acknowledge the pain
• With a museum
• Chronologically
• DEI education permitted
• When approval there are different stories
• Recontextualize the monument and space
• The monument is not a singular story
• Remember when the city was called "Columbus?"
• How to bring the missing stories?
• How some people became heroes and villains in history
• I want grandkids to make their own stories
• From all perspectives
• With details
• Acknowledge our painful past & celebrate the future
• How can you make this a spacial experience
• Not a story
• Tell the truth
• Eye-level (location)
• Stories of those that were oppressed
• Lay him to rest
• Experience leads you to a new story
• Play with ways this were named, Columbo>Columbus
• To tell the full story, not leaving parts out (the good & the bad) A big part of history is learning all sides to the story not just what looks good in
the history books. That's how we learn from our past
• That at the time, the US was racist and built on lies, death, and appropriation
• Melt down Columbus statue and recast as a Native woman holding a baby or child
• Accurate depictions. Something more deserving of a symbol
• Building in a way to protect from the elements; balance Native
• To create a conversations about the resilience & endurance of indigenous people
• Statue of guy/ figure who really makes no difference on the world anymore
• Replace & honor people who were there before Columbus
• Show Columbus as lost, but also that he found something great
• To tell the whole history of the events that happened on the land the symbol is on. Making the symbol a part of history
• Invasion
• As a relic of a past where it's not a legend but a story - not mine, but someone's story
• Make sure you do your homework before you start anything
• What if the French took over? What if we were colonized by others
• A story of the people who lived here. What they love, what they lost
• Be very factual in representing
• Show all parts of history in replacement. Show common acts of other people
• What if he didnt come? Society different? Can he represent out freedom today?
• Look at it as a whole. If it was someone else that came, how different would life be like now?
• National Park
• Healthcare center
• Playground that prompts imagination without directed outcomes other than fun
• Cultural artifacts
• Good people watching
• Activity + rest together
• Meditation space for community
• A place our ancestors feel welcome to visit
• Interactive maze with a new culture at every turn
• Something representing all cultures
• Something like the Cloud Gate in Chicago - we would all see ourselves
• Windchimes, clouds on a giant tree blowing in wind
• Mirrors to reflect
• New library for community and highlight real story
• A community center for all people
• Forrest
• Trees planted to memorialize lost souls
• A place where I feel small
• Public altar
• A place to rest and release breath with others
• Community Compost Pile
• Oak tree forrest
• Statue of united cultures
• Barefoot pebble garden
• Creative space to climb and explore and observe and gather
• Concerts/music softly playing
• Architecture
• Spreading gospel of christ
• Columns, arches, aqueduct, fountains
• Symphony hall
If you had a space to create a large symbol of your culture and identity, what would you put there?
• Celebration and sorrow
• Italian immigrants
• Art, Davinci, Caravaggio
• Leonardo Da Vinci
• Food
• Large family celebrating with food, music, wine
• Statues of several famous italians (like mt. rushmore) Columbus, Michelangelo, Da
• Vinci, Polo, Caesar, etc
• Mom’s food for anyone
• Roman history contributes to world progress
• Radio
• Exploring
• Symbol of art, creativity, science, exploration, excellence, and hard work
• Italian American cultural center for ohio
• You threw away our santa maria boat. Took down the statue… not sure i would trust the
• city again
• Every october celebrating italian heritage
• Art museum
• Music, science, artists
• Symbols representing Marconi, Fermi, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Verdi, Puccini
• Significant role in shaping this community
• Sculptures of a sunrise over the water with a ship sailing into it
• Family park, space that honors prominent local italians. A showcase sister city bond
• Monument to italian american’s contributions to science, education, public service
• Family of bronze statues holding hands
• Recognition of arts, family, music, food, culture
• 4 or 5 generations together
• A large kitchen table
• Sistine chapel replica
• Every school history lesson should cover what italians did for the world
• The cultural clubs that we gather at
• Replica of any great italian architectures
• Overcame bigotry on our own!
• Typical italian farm-house
• Italian art/artists and musicians
• St. Anthony
• Statue of italian families who came to this country
• Art and sculpture made by italians—history of italy come to life through people
• Italian flag
• Crossed flags
• A piece of artwork that represents italian family, possibly of italian immigrants
• Statues of impactful italian americans
• Have work, creativity, excellence, art, architecture, science, exploration
• Family
• Famous explorer, artist from italian history as well as american italians of prominence and a Bocce court
• A tribute to the victims of Christopher Columbus
• Story trail w/ symbols of our history
• Names of black inventors/contributors/etc
• Garden
• Outdoor and some more private space, the four elements, tribute to our ancestors.
• Something for all the senses. Recreation + reflection
• Culture is not contained within space or time
• Represent culture throughout the city
• Ask people what they want
• Looks like LOVE IN ACTION
• I’d give the space to people that NEEDED it.
• Community centre w/ all things black
• Not a statue of a person.
• Something less passive but invites you to learn the actual history of place, space of black and
indigenous culture.
• A mosaic of everyday black folks. Photos, drawings, love, music
• Place to host all and any festivals
• Black cultural center w/ black art, music, artifacts, clothing, spiritual, space, for community events
• Community gathering space
• Dance
• My village
• Immersive in Nature
• Music
• Natural reminding
• Video
• Pictures
• Co-creative
• Textiles
• Vietnam Memorial (Space to Grieve)
• Historical figures of women
• Story of La Malinche
• MercadoGood food
• Community Space
• Something that provides space for people
• Controlled burn with regrowth
• Food
• Nature
• Plants
• Enduring project of colonization
• I would like a sound/light/image projection (music) with color
• Food
• Native statue looking out to Columbus ship. Remember to keep history of this historic interaction (not a statue to Columbus)
• Art that represents the tribe in that state
• Have a Native statue facing Columbus to show there is another story
• Build something to bring people and families
together. It should not be one sided but rather open-minded. It should be reflective of community values, culture, and thoughts
• For New Mexico: code talkers
• The Native tribe originally there
• The symbol would be a representation of all Indigenous people, it could be an idea all Indigenous people share that shows the culture of the people and what unites them
• It is important to not erase history by replacing the Columbus statue. Rather it should be a wayfinding tool in showing why and how these tragedies happened. Figure out the target audience. Native, residents, etc
• Colors, stories, language, hogans, show that out land/ resources were stolen
• The people of the stories a display of the history
• The constellations as it means so much to us
• Leave and add to the statue; a teaching tool. Learn and to pass on histories and stories
• A cross
• Rug as a symbol
• Our art, culture or community
• The tribe that watched the ships come in
• A hogan representing a house, a rug, cornstalk, almost a cornucopia
• They're already there we just dont see them. They're in preexisting things
• Don't want to accessorize our relationships
• Ké
• Something of the shared experience of humanity
• Chilchinbeto's worlds largest Navajo rug
• History is shown where Christopher Columbus should stay in; highlight colonization; should be there if community wants
• Keep the statue; Have a piece of him there; he destroyed peace
• Museum explaining the history of Native Americans
ONLINE PUBLIC COMMENTS
• Put Columbus back up, he is the city's namesake...
• The statue of Christopher Columbus should have no home in any public art installation within the city. Putting statues, even with context, into these spaces is a literal edification of the person and their actions. We should not be edifying someone with a history as ruthless and bloody as Columbus. That history and context are more than welcome to be displayed in a museum, where it is appropriate. If this statue must be place in public then it should be displayed on its side to highlight that the statue is not there to glorify him but rather to educate.
• Absolutely do not reinstall the Christopher Columbus statue. Better to change the name of the city than to try to celebrate imagery that represents the removal of indigenous people.
• While I appreciate the objectivity that seems ro have been involved in the decision to place the Christopher Columbus statue in the proposed park, why not place or have an artist construct a new statue that honors, say, the Native Americans or the present-day residents of Columbus, OH? I doubt most German people wish to honor Adolf Hitler with a statue; I bet the Congolese aren't planning to build and display any statues of Leopold II. I could go on. Point blank, it's peculiar and downright tacky, seeking to display not just a statue of Columbus but a 22 foot tall version of the man. Why isn't a text blurb about Columbus enough? How does displaying a statue of Columbus signify a belief in the growth and prosperity of this city?
• I think this new park proposal is a fantastic idea!!!! The inclusion of Christopher's back story, ideas and meaning along with the bad things that offend people is a beautiful way to make a tribute to all involved with his history and how everyone has been effected and affected by him.
• Reflect Christopher Columbus from his personal journal and thoughts. The man, his beliefs, his
thoughts in his era of time. DO YOU DARE TO TELL THE REAL TRUTH? Is destruction, violence, and censorship the repeat norm of the 21st leadership? WE SHALL SEE.
• Not a fan of anything Reimagined. Just put Christopher Columbus back at City Hall where it was originally. Seems like a lot of unnecessary time & money is being spent reimagining something that doesn't need reimagining…
• What’s the status of the Christopher Columbus Statue?
• Hello. We are looking forward to the Columbus Statue being open to visit again, as our kids are learning Early American History and the discussions around the Columbus’ voyage. It was a disappointment to learn of the narrowmindedness of the city and its lack of vision in removing the statue.
• I came to a discussion to observe and learn about conversations within culture, but gained more knowledge and insights than I had anticipated! Wonderful work! Thank you for hearing all voices! I never felt more connected to my Columbus community!
• Yes, we can help with youth leadership if needed
• I was watching this historian, and believe it is important to understand how first contact happened. The savage nature at the core of what is determined as “Civilized”. https://www. facebook.com/share/r/9hnr1hL79yvN6vUP/?mib extid=31ks6x
• As an Italian American I urge you to stop desecrating the memory of this great explorer! His accomplishments and his bravery and vision are second to none. The revisionist historians are out to destroy his legacy and things that are parts of our American mosaic. Please look at what happen in New Orleans and how Columbus Day came about. Don't tear down Italian Americans and our culture!
• Please respect the Christopher Columbus statue and leave him as is. Do not obstruct his view or distract from the majesty of his historical value
and presence. Thank you.
• Christopher Columbus is a symbol of ItalianAmerican heritage. Diversity is for inclusion of ALL people, not just bipoc. I’m sick of my culture and heritage being trashed by people who only care about people of color.
• What will happen to the statue? If it will not be exhibited publicly as part of the Project, why not? Would inclusivity not also mean reckoning with Columbus’s own history of privileging a different narrative? Why not provide the public with the evidence of that from various points of view? Should evidence not speak for itself? Thank you for the opportunity to leave this comment. Thank you for your public engagement.
• I attended a community conversation event in person, watched your YouTube videos on indigenous design and reviewed your entire agenda and fail to see any presentations from Italian immigrants. When deciding the fate of a statue gifted from Italy that is important to Italians during a time of discrimination, wouldn’t it be fair to have equal presentation time to from their point of view?
• Let's bring the Columbus statue to the right scale and celebrate the collective history! Architectural Parti: A New Contextualization of the Christopher Columbus Statue Conceptual Vision The Columbus/People’s Memorial is a profound architectural and experiential reimagining of the Christopher Columbus statue, aimed at balancing historical narratives and addressing past injustices. It proposes to recontextualize the monument by "burying" it, thus reducing its imposing stature and bringing it down to the “eye level” of the visitors. This new scale allows for a more intimate and reflective engagement with the monument. This repositioning diminishes the statue's oncedominant presence, allowing for a more direct and personal confrontation with the figure of Columbus. Sensory Journey Visitors’ first sight of the statue is at eye level, as it is placed at a lower level. They embark on a sensory journey
that transitions from an open, “free” space into a confined and oppressive environment. This spatial progression is symbolic, representing the journey from liberation to subjugation, mirroring the historical experiences of those affected by colonization. As visitors approach the feet of the statue, they are invited to confront and reflect on the complex legacy of Columbus and the broader implications of colonization. Starting point The approach begins in a vast, open plaza that symbolizes freedom and openness, allowing visitors to gather their thoughts and prepare for the experience ahead. The plaza is designed with elements of nature and openness, creating a serene environment that contrasts with the confined space that follows. Descending Pathway From the plaza, visitors descend into a progressively narrowing pathway, gradually immersing them into a more restricted environment. This descent is intentionally designed to evoke feelings of confinement and oppression, paralleling the historical context of colonization. The walls of the pathway are adorned with narratives, images, and testimonials from the perspectives of indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups, providing a balanced narrative and fostering empathy. At the Feet of the Colonizer The pathway culminates at the base of the Columbus statue. Visitors are encouraged to reflect on the historical impact of colonization, considering both the achievements and the atrocities. Collective Storytelling and Reflection Throughout this journey, the memorial emphasizes collective storytelling and the empowerment of minorities. This engagement promotes critical thinking and encourages visitors to consider the broader implications of historical events and their relevance to contemporary issues. At the heart of the People's Memorial is a celebration of humanity's resilience and a commitment to learning from the past. The memorial aims to provoke reflection on historical injustices, fostering a spirit of empathy and understanding. By recognizing the painful aspects of history, the memorial seeks to revive a collective commitment to justice and humanity
and the importance of learning from our past to build a more just and compassionate future. Architectural Elements • Plaza of Openness: symbolizing freedom and reflection • Descending Pathway: progressively narrowing path that immerses visitors in a confined, introspective journey • Interactive/Displays: along the pathway, installations provide narratives from marginalized perspectives, promoting empathy and understanding • Repositioned Statue: The Columbus statue is lowered to eye level, allowing for direct and personal engagement
• Reflection Space: At the base of the statue, an area designed for contemplation and sharing of collective stories The Columbus/ People's Memorial is not just a recontextualization of a historical monument but a transformative experience that encourages reflection, understanding, and empathy. reference:JK Memorial, Brasilia, BR - How The Word Is Passed, Clint Smith
• When the Mellon Foundation grant was first announced, the City stated that $1.5 million of the grant would go towards the new installation of public art on the campus of City Hall. I feel that the $1.5 million of new public art should be dispersed throughout the city into our neighborhoods. Perhaps at libraries, in partnerships with Columbus City Schools, or other public properties. Artists could be chosen who live in proximity of these locations or schools could participate in decision on the type of art installation and its content. Representatives from Reimagining Columbus in partnership with the Columbus Arts Commission could work together on deciding locations, art medium, and artists selection. It makes no sense to install new artwork from this grant at a single location, especially a location that is rarely visited or seen by the majority of Columbus residents. The new art installations should represent a point of pride and community to various areas throughout the city. One should not have to make a special trip to the City Hall campus to view this $1.5 million grant allocation for public art. That would make
about as much sense as placing the Christopher Columbus statue back in its original location.
• I want the Christopher Columbus statue to be put back up and remain in Columbus Ohio.
BLANK POSTCARD RESPONSES
• Is there any consideration being given to the idea of replacing the Christopher Columbus Statue with a Statue of Rahsaan Roland Kirk? This would be inclusive of the African American community and the disabled community. We need the city to recognize our hero as its hero.
• *Bring everyone's opinions to the table*
• Cultural worst- Fascism /cultural best- food, queerness culturally identity
• Grandmothers rule the world! resilency food :) showing up, being present - how is the trauma transformed into our greatest strengths?
• Family nucleus -respect -elders -resourceful -resilient -civic life
• Colonization separates us from our heritage; reconnecting is difficult & sometimes done in a racist way
• 1) colonization can sever roots 2) it is important to be cognizant of what we are celebrating when we are descendants of colonizers.
• -what is a sense of home? -what brings us together? -what brings us apart?
• A challenged truth that I have inherited that did not start with me? ( meat has to be cooked well done, the same with eggs.)
• Isolation & acclimation - where is home?security and **indiscernible**
• not always proud of history that used to have pride attached
• measuring generations, having perspective through the length of family history in US.
• What do we take from our culture --> to grow on
• How might colonization impact the way I experience my cultural "roots"?
• Understanding approach to term African American. Colonizer shame
• Culture exists bc of it -identifying with American bc of long history in this country
• Identifying w/ multigenerational American experience
• Everyone is battling something.
• We are not the worst or best of our culture
• principles + methods -resistance -strength as a benefit rather than a response to stress or trauma
• At its best- love, empathy, hope, unity, collaboration(Ex. Civil Rights Movement) At worst- fear, hate, segregation
• The choice of what culture of your family is focused on or celebrated at the expense of others.
• Experience cultural roots -general curiosity around who we are -interest in complex tree branches of family tree since every place has experiences colonization
• Fun/rural/reckless/ in cultures.
• Not knowing cultural heritage
• Creation/violence fun/alcoholism / no trust/ universal connection
• What's the best + worst of our culture violence/ art+creation
• Interest in knowing who our ancestors are, and where they came from
• A sense of loss - looking for intergenerational memory
• Fun/ camaraderie versus alcoholism / violence
• Not much to say about colonization because it's everywhere.
• How do you honor your culture while acknowledging the elements that negatively impacted society?
• How do I feel/ experience colonization?
• Adoption- how it impacts one's cultural development
• People at the table were very thoughtful
interweaving their stories with colonization.
• Creativity, self reliance, stick-to-it-iveness.
• We're all connected to colonization but it is felt differently depending on personal/family history and the stories family tells
• Fear shows up - solidarity *indiscernible** cemetery yellow springs
• Shared/common exp. of having been impacted by colonization
• Not a great deal of thought given to Q#1 before tonight
• TRIBALISM
• Connectedness is essential
• SOLIDARITY
• Don't regularly think about impact of colonization of my life
• With 80% colonization # you can feel trauma of guilt
• What challenging truths have been inherited in your culture that didn’t start with you?
• Racism exists in microcosm of culture
• Everyone has displaced people in their past, get over it optimism pragmatism.
• We're all still searching for "it".
• I believe the statue should be placed in a prominent position of the city. (like scioto mile or back in front of city hall)
• If permanently moved from city hall we should place a plaque explaining when & why it was removed so that future generations can see how we acted in time of political unrest.
• Give the statue to the leadership of the Italian community.
• Allow them to select 5 sites.
• They would purchase the property.
• A committee approved by the Italians + mayor would select a site.
• The city pays for transporting the statue +
the foundation for the statue.
• It must contain historical info+ be a park like setting. the property would be tax exempt.
• The pride once associated w/ Columbus the person this city was names after is not shining right now. put it (the statue) in Italian village but also put in statues in different neighborhoods that the people of the neighborhoods raise $ for + want.
• Place the statue in an area and list the atrocities committed by Christopher Columbus
• THE CITY MUST be renamed!
• If everything is alone or non discernible then everything should be respected. The statue is not reflective of me and my experience. it should not be put back up in public.
• The only fitting uses of this statue i can imagine is as a public canvas for graffiti/ destruction as an effigy, or another form of public ridicule and catharsis.
• This is how the population has been using it for decades, and that should be a continued tradition.
• The statue glorifies the first enslaver of the Americas and is not compatible with a welcoming, antiracist city.
• Please do not reinstall the statue! Instead, put up a statue to Blue Jacket (Shawnee Leader)
• Face looking surprised or scared
• "I don't think I'm going to be able to participate in these sessions, but I have been giving this some thought since the future of the Columbus statue was one of the things we discussed when Kay Bea Jones recently made a presentation on a related context (in Italy).Here's what's come to mind for me:
• Treat Chris the way saints are often memorialized on top of their coffins, in his case some sort of plinth. It takes him off the pedestal but humanizes him because he is at our level. Exactly what level would be important; a viewing platform for kids might
be necessary. I think in this way he could still be revered (by those who want to honor him) and be laid to rest, both literally and figuratively.
• The statue is certainly important to this city, but the history of his ""discovering America"" and the ways in which we have come to reexamine that history has importance far beyond the boundaries of greater Columbus. Having him laid to rest as the centerpiece of an installation that presents the historical perspective (timeline, etc.) on multiple levels and current thinking would be very interesting and informative. I'm thinking of a sort of study center approach — a just-the-facts-ma'am text and images without taking a stand—that encourages reflection on our history while not burying it."
• Turn it into a museum
• Thought you should reinstall it, only put it inside the statehouse instead of in public.
• Please do NOT put this statue back up. There are very good reasons that people rejected this monument - we live in a different time than even 10 years ago. While you may not be able to change the name of the city, you don’t have to pay homage to the terrible deeds this person represents
• PUT IN A MUSEUM
• I would like to support the artist but not glorify the negative actions. I suggest make the, to a location where people can see it and appreciate it, but have some info on where it came from, why it was moved, and what we hope to accomplish by moving it and saying this statue doesn't represent our current city.
• I would recommend moving the statue to a place where it can be celebrated, such as the Italian Village, or a park with a collection of other moved monuments. The context of the monument matters, and I believe there is a better place. Additionally, i would add more historical
information explaining colonization which Christopher Columbus participated in at the time.
• RELOCATE. Museum?
• In A Museum
• 1. It is a part of history. 2. It is art 3. Good to have a conversation about the history
• Doesn't really matter to me. Neat artifact.
• Do something for everyone
• The statue has transformed from Monument to Artifact
• Is the Christopher Columbus statue a monument or public art?
• To me, a monument is a publicly visible 3D object whose primary function is to memorialize a real person or event...now I'm pondering the difference between "monument" and "memorial."
• Rather than statues of people, display art that represents various cultures within the city.
• Conquerer
• Thank you for having these sessions. As a Columbus native, I found the videos and storytelling elements very illuminating. I learned much. I hope the project continues to provide opportunities to give agency to tell more stories.
• If the statue is art, it should be evaluated as such. Bad art, which this sculpture is, doesn’t get displayed. Terrible craftsmanship and aesthetic.
• Christopher Columbus was an explorer and a navigator, was he a conquerer?
• A tourist destination.
• Irrelevant to contemporary, daily life.
• Something for birds (drawing of birds)
• Something large and inescapable
• A BIG sculpture.
POSTCARD & SURVEY RESPONSES
What do you feel the statue represents?
• Hatred and the start of indigenous removal by Europeans.
• Discovery of America.
• Personally, The statue represents a bygone perspective. While I can appreciate the history and artistry in the creation of the statue, I am unsure how it fits into today's view of Columbus, as a person.
• It represents the adventure and excitement of a pivotal time in world history when maps were incomplete, and explorers set out in search of new territory, wealth, and fame.
• The end of thriving indigenous culture in the western hemisphere.
• Nothing positive, as a student growing up in another state , elementary students were given select history. It wasn’t until years later, as university student with a double major, studying history that I found out what was left out.
• Theft, division, nationalist pride, encounter, domination, sister city relationship (what of the other relations), genocide, usury, disorientation and on and on
• History, pride, connection to ancestry of many Americans, recognition and acceptance into American society of Italians who suffered from discrimination and racism.
• History of our country right or wrong. You can’t change history.
• It represents a connection with sister city Genoa, Italy, because it was a gift. However, the relationship is doubtless because of our city's name, and I don't think the statute is necessary to demonstrate that connection.
• Sister city relationship honoring out city’s namesake.
• It represents the City's commitment to honoring the decisions made by a bunch of people more than a hundred years ago, as well as the City's
commitment to resisting recognizing the harms of Christopher Columbus that even his contemporaries recognized.
• My WOW at reading Admiral of the Ocean Sea was because it was instantly clear that every bad thing that had been reported about Columbus for 30 years now was completely false. Trust me residents 50 and over that’s maybe half will be equally wowed. My unofficial official Columbus historian call for 1st most beloved Western hero would go to Fredrick Douglass then 2nd Benjamin Franklin (Franklinton???) then 3rd Christopher Columbus... before even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson they both had slaves (as most of the world did).
• A mythology from a culture that prioritizes men and whites.
• It is not an active piece of artwork being talked about before the reckoning moments in 2020.
• A violent, racist past. We need to be informed of the truth.
• I believe it represents the courage to venture out into the unknown, not knowing whether you will succeed or fail, or even live through the experience.
• A connection to the discovery of America
• Colonial extraction and genocide of indigenous cultures, life ways and economic sovereignty
• To me it was the city to city connection with Genoa, in what is now the country called Italy.
• 1) Italian-American heritage 2) Importance of taking risks for new discoveries
• I think it represents racism, misogyny, slavery and genocide. There are no Native American tribes in Ohio, we are one state in the Union where the genocide was complete. You might say that I shouldn't judge a man by today's moral standards, but I do believe that there are decent people living in the 15th century that would not partake in the reprehensible acts that Columbus was involved in. Human decency is not a modern technology.
• Simply, the namesake of our city, a brave explorer of the time, and a typical human of his era.
• The history of our collaborations with sister city, Genoa, Italy, as well as present confusion and future potential. Our legacy of immigration and diminished populations
• It represents a cultural hero that was assigned to the Italian community - a community that deserves a better hero.
• absolute racism sexism everything that is wrong about america.
• Oppression, unwillingness to engage with history and instead live in a false narrative
• The Columbus statue has never really meant much to me in terms of historical figure of Columbus. It has always meant Italian American pride.
• Bigotry
• The Christopher Columbus Statue is very important to Italian American history. In the Italian people's eyes he was a symbol of courage and bravery-- he had a dream to explore a new land and even when he was denied multiple times he persevered until he was able to accomplish his dream. He had the courage and the bravery to leave his homeland to find a new land and he was successful in his quest. To Italians he was their hero and inspired them to be courageous as well and to leave their homeland to find a better future in America. All these historians keep twisting the truth on Columbus to make him out to be a horrible historical figure and that is not the case at all. Columbus did a lot of good for the world and that keeps being overshadowed by the lies and racist hate of historians. In addition to what I wrote above, if wasn't for Columbus, the Columbian Exchange never would have happened-- horses, tomatoes, sugar, chocolate, potatoes and so many other things would have never made it to other foreign countries if it wasn't for him. Italy wouldn't have even had their tomatoes for their tomato sauce if it wasn't for Columbus and the Columbian Exchange.
• The statue represents the positive impact of the greatest explorer bringing the Renaissance and Western Civilization to the New World. His path is the path that European immigrants followed including Italians who championed Columbus Day and dedicated Columbus monuments across America.
• An image or a great man who did amazing things. Your city should be proud of being named for him
• The statue represents to me the importance of recognizing the wrong done to Italians who were part of the largest mass lynching in American history in New Orleans. It shows we are important and have given much to this country asking little in return. It also represents what we can accomplish when inspired.
• Italian American Heritage and culture
• Columbus represents the establishment of a multicultural America. As the first Catholic icon, he represents millions of people who were discriminated against and overcame the prejudices of society. Columbus was chosen as a symbol to combat nativism, lynchings, anti Catholic, and anti Italian prejudice by showing our role in the establishment of America.
• Pride in America and Italian Americans
• Courage, exploration, duty, a gift from the Italian people
• Genocide! Murder, rape, and mutilation.
• Colonization
• Colonial domination and a false history of the USA
• Colonization and continued inequality that some would like to consign to the past. The name of the city must also be changed. Instead of celebrating colonial violence we could finally have an identity that takes us into the future.
• Fearless discovery, the curious nature of humanity, and the expansion of consciousness.
• Colonialism
• Colonialism
• Colonialism
• Racism
• White supremacy
• A hero explorer!
• Christopher Columbus is our city's namesake and a prominent figure for Italian Americans. The statue was a gift from our sister city genoa Italy. Despite being a controversial figure he is arguably the most prominent Italian to impact the founding of our country.
• Racism
• Colonization
• Imperialism
• A man who was the Neil Armstrong of his time enraged in the style of failed cosmonauts.
• A delusional form of success measured by a group of oppressors.
• Colonialism, violence, acceptance of the murder done by white supremacist to Indigenous and enslaved africans.
• Colonialism/imperialism, white supremacy & hegemony.
• The statue represents a mindset of capitalism it represents oppression and genocide of Indigenous peoples.
• I think it represents the painful and racist history of colonization. It represents a man who saw human beings as a commodity to be bought and sold, raped at will, and killed with little thought. he harmed a vast number of indigenous people, who probably feel like less than full *indiscernible** when they are forced to view it and talk about it.
• Violence, white supremacy, colonialism, fascism, (an Italian word), anti-indigenous, manifest destiny ass bullshit, waste of money and resources, unsafely, psychological warfare, lack of real justice oriented vision.
• Racism, colonialism, slavery, oppression, patriarchy, incompetence, fascism, death, stupidity.
• I feel this statue represents genocide,
colonization, and disrespect.
• The statue represents a cultural and institutional commitment to continued support and enactment of genocide and slavery, both here and internationally.
• Colonialism, genocide, extrapolation, pedophilia, slavery.
• At one point I think it was interpreted as representing discovery/ambition... now i think it represents genocide & taking of land without regard of those that lived there.
• I think they should destroy it!
• The statue represents imperialism, colonization, and oppression. Columbus didn't set foot on the continent of North America. he did not discover anything, people were already here. He is a golden calf.
• Genocide & white America's obsession with idealized false narratives.
• It is a part of history, it is art, and it is good to facilitate conversations about our history.
• Genocide. Melt it down.
• Colonialism, DO NOT bring the statue back.
• It's a reminder of imperialism and greed that is the other side of the coin of adventure and discovery. I think it should be put in context of Columbus's intentions and actions and the repercussions that had.
• I think that the statue will bring back the history and help people to see the important figures about Columbus.
• I think that it will be a great idea to put the statue up.
• Colonialism and rape and racism.
• Both colonialism and an adventurous spirit - few things are purely good or bad.
• The statue represents history, America, freedom, but also lacks clarity.
• Pillaging, rape, murder, genocide, and colonization.
• It should represent the truth. If it goes back up it should show both sides and showcase what Native Americans went through.
• The statue represents the history of colonialism in the US.
• Uninformed history.
• Curiosity, Bravery, embracing the unknown.
• The statue represents the founding of the New World. It also represents the pride of the Italians over the American community.
• Colonialism, white supremacy, it is a monument that I am glad was removed from in front of the statehouse.
• For some, a romanticized version of a "new frontier." For others, (like myself,) a solemn moment and reminder of lives lost, racism, and white supremacy encouraged and emboldened.
• It represents the namesake of our city plus the connection with Genoa, our sister city and birthplace. I feel it should be on display!
• Legacy of colonialism and slavery. Violence, conquest, and their glorification in our national narrative.
• The statue has no relevance to me; however, for those that value it, I believe they are holding on to their ideal tradition that has stagnated in history without understanding.
• I hope more public art can be created to tell their stories of today.
What symbols represent your culture?
• The culture that large business owners and the leaders whose campaigns they buy out want us to have a meritocracy (according to the standards they set). They define our culture as consumerist, capitalist, and extractionist--all things that reflect on Christopher Columbus' legacy. I don't want to live in that kind of environment. I want to live in a community-based culture where you don't have to rely on Amazon for groceries. I want more public transit options, affordable medical care,
and different housing types that aren't singlefamily homes. I want a community-focused environment that isn't focused on tearing other people down to get ahead.
• American flag. Freedom of speech and religion.
• My ethnic background is nearly all western European. My family has colonial ancestors who first arrived in New Jersey in 1667. I don't feel the need to preserve any more of that era's history, considering Anglo-American viewpoints are almost always first and most completely preserved. I would appreciate a modern interpretation of history. One that takes in true consideration of Columbus's actions upon his arrival in the "new world" and what type of person Columbus was and how he was regarded in his own time.
• Statue of Liberty, Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence
• The Statue of Liberty, is one, as I am from NY, a child of the 1970’s where love and sounds of freedom are my foundation. I also believe in Christ and the cross, forgiveness and redemption. I think great places like DC with Abraham Lincoln Memorial close to museums like Children’s Holocaust Museum is a strong symbol. The Celtic knot and Harriet Tubman statue, Vietnam Memorial with eternal pools, just to name a few.
• Public access to public lands, public space must create vision and discern inequalities, city hall is Columbus’ residents house to the business of all who resident or will in central Ohio
• Christopher Columbus - DaVinci - MarconiCornicello - Malocchio - family above all else
• The American flag. The constitution. What matters is honesty and not biased opinions.
• History, public art, architecture.
• I'm an atheist; I'm an American. The US flag, the bald eagle, Benjamin Franklin's turkey, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the prairie schooner, the figure of a blindfolded Law with level scales, any humanist imagery of the Triumph of Humanity over nature.
• First the hate begins and ends with Howard Zinn. Zinn was not an historian… he was an activist. He is lovingly remembered as a passionate activist leader, teacher. A communist party member his whole life, trashing Columbus, a God loving Western hero, came with the job. His work was legitimately ridiculed by historians on the left for making up facts to suit the stories. He did no original research. He plagiarized others histories, leaving out the bit that showed actual original intent. He did no original research. This is all documented in the new Mary Garber book. Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America. This article explains. https://www. thecollegefix.com/howard-zinn-lied-aboutchristopher-columbus-heres-how/
• MLK. And it is not necessarily my culture per se; I'm Asian American but I resonate with the values he stands for .
• Black citizens of Columbus continue to help build up this City and there needs to be more representation.
• We are a culture of diversity, one that accepts all people regardless of who they are, their beliefs, their color, and their own culture.
• "nihil supernum" is my comment on the religious aspects of Christopher Columbus. As the the civic elements, if we want to celebrate true American civics, we should replace the statue of Christopher Columbus with some other notable American, or with an expression of an ideal, such as Columbia.
• Water, intercommunalism, mutual aid
• I am descended from people that came from Hungary. My grandparents all came from there. Locally I identify with the Hungarian community in the South End. It's where I grew up. Kossuth street was named for Louis Kossuth who came to America to find support for Hungarians who in 1848 who fought to win freedom from Austria.
• Well, Columbus used to represent ItalianAmerican heritage, but now I'm not sure who
does. There is a statue of Garibaldi near where I grew up, but who knows who that is? Possibly St. Francis of Assisi. Really I mostly associate my culture with food. Italians value family, but so do many other cultures.
• As a mutt, it's hard to say. I definitely think that we should celebrate Native American culture and folklore more. I believe that we are represented by our unique animals, the bald eagle, the mountain lion, bobcat, white-tailed deer and the snapping turtle. I think it is also important to give a nod to the automobile, the space program and maintaining our Union over the last 250 years and Ohio's contributions to that.
• I am proud to be an Ohioian. I adore our state flag. I am proud of our city and show it off to my out of town visitors.
• nature....nature.....the earth and the physical environment. our respect for Mother Earth and our care for her.
• My culture is my city, which is named Columbus - but we can separate that from the man for whom it was originally named.
• The three sisters corn beans and squash indigenous women and men together and with their families, and the Cherokee Syllabary founded by Sequoyah. What matters to my culture is language culture history songs dancing humor our creation stories our stories.
• Cross- represents a willingness to let go of what primarily benefits you for the sake of all Treelife, ecosystems and existence including but not limited to human life Heart-love Light/flamegaze toward the future Water-purity, healing, refresh Rock-stability and change and past and future and plainness and beauty and strength
• In the US, Columbus has been the traditional symbol of Italian American culture
• I don't have any particular cultures associated with me, but I would like to see some type of nature symbol like a cool bear statue or something. No people.
• Kindness, courage, perseverance, determination,
being helpful, being strong, being giving, family, and food are all important to the Italian American Culture.
• Christopher Columbus is the number 1 symbol of Italian culture with the biggest impact. Vision, hard work, faith, and wisdom are among some of the values which are important to Italian culture. Columbus embodied those values.
• A Statue of Columbus is one of them.
• Columbus
• Christopher Columbus is THE symbol that represents Italian American culture. What matters to our culture: Family, God, Country, Loyalty.
• I see myself in everyone and everything. I welcome monuments to other cultures and people and appreciate their existence. I simply wish that same courtesy and reverence was afforded to mine. My cultural symbols in terms of the foundation history of America are Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Verrazano, Cabot, and the millions of Americans of Italian descent who fought to establish a place in America yet are still being discriminated against by efforts to strip us of our cultural monuments that aren't bothering anyone.
• Columbus, Washington, Jefferson, etc
• I don't look at symbols, I look at behaviors and intentions. If I can't examine that I make no conclusions.
• La Fusión de dos Culturas De Jorge González Camarena https://www.pinterest.com/ pin/755901118700185169/ https://mexicana.cultura.gob.mx/es/ repositorio/detalle?id=_suri:MNH: :TransObject:5dfa62b77a8a0240e40326b2 It should never be white only history anymore. It’s an insult to all the other people who shared in that experience. It’s never about telling what people to think, in any propaganda form. But thinking for theme selves, which is so rare in fast food philosophies of central Ohio.
• freedom, respect, dignity
• I like art of many kinds, both ethnically marked and ethnically unmarked. I would like us to have true history that includes everyone’s stories.
• Corn. As someone who is 1/4 Indigenous to the Americas, corn is the ancestral tie that unites us. There are many mythohistories that tell how the origin of maize is the origin of our people. It is both a super sustenance and a homeland.
• My culture is my community. What matters is healthy, balanced lives with good food, art, relationships, music, and care.
• Celebrate the little guys, the unknown. Those from diverse parts of the city that have done little things to get us here. Or perhaps rather than celebrating people more like ideas about acceptance and prosperity for all.
• Native American
• Italian flag/ USA Flag (drawing) The history of immigrants
• The Italian flag, food, family
• Courage, integrity, perseverance
• Edelweiss
• It's not about me. but jewish heritage in Cbus.
• Vortex. what happens above happens below.
• No oil and gas. no. (drawing of factory?)
• The symbols that represent my culture include traditional Celtic and Irish symbols, like the Irish flag, Celtic crosses and the claddagh. I also feel that symbols surrounding American movements like labor, Black lives matter, and socialist symbols represent me and my experiences.
• The bicycle, the greatest invention in human history
• Freedom from oppression in all forms (drawing of anarchy symbol)
• Home cooked meals -quality togetherness -simple, slow days -room for evolution --> together + separately
• -apologizing when we've made a mistake
• American flag, constitution of the United States, bill of rights. freedom to express myself and not worry about suffering any consequences of my beliefs as long as they do not harm another
• Nobody leaves the house hungry. Have some pasta, take some home!
• I am white so the symbol that represents my culture is the $ and that is what matters to them.
• Love, community, family, art.
• Cornbread, banana pudding, hot coffee, even in the summertime.
• I’m from the south, and to be honest, people care more about food than flags. Let’s get monuments of these.
• Inclusivity. My culture is an amalgamation of so many cultures that are just now being explored. With the early 21st century influx of other nations, so too must the city’s identity transform. Vast statues of identity must be represented.
If a culture you identify with had a hero, who would that be?
• Bus drivers, grocery store employees, nurses... "essential workers." Definitely not anyone who led a mission that started centuries of genocide. Our modern day Christopher Columbus is all the people that work hard and try to make it work, despite massive corporations that make living unaffordable.
• George Washington. First to represent democracy in an elected way.
• Goodness, such a loaded question, but for me, a first responder, a teacher, a person standing against social injustice and inequality, those who selflessly give to those in need.
• Franklin Roosevelt. He came from a wealthy aristocratic family, but he believed government should provide opportunities for everyone in society such as Social Security, public works, labor relations, financial reform.
• This question requires at least an essay, not enough space or time here.
• Viking explorations, rural and urban marriage, multi-generational and Cross-Cultural expressions of self and community, and more
• Christopher Columbus - explorer - navigatorMichelangelo - art that has stood the test of time
• Lincoln he began to move diversify in the right direction.
• Thomas Jefferson, a renaissance man who also had some flaws.
• Figures of the Enlightenment: Ada Lovelace. Locke. Montesquieu. Diderot. De Sade. For more-modern figures: Turing. Isaac Asimov. Albert Einstein. Marie Curie. Harriet Tubman. Martin Luther King Junior.
• My unofficial official Columbus historian call for 1st most beloved Western hero would go to Fredrick Douglass then 2nd Benjamin Franklin (Franklinton???) then 3rd Christopher Columbus... before even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson they both had slaves (as most of the world did).
• Emma Goldman and Emma Lazarus both fought tirelessly and at great risk for social justice.
• The City of Columbus has numerous Black citizens that could easily be considered heroes
• My father's family came from Italy, my mother's ancestors came from Ireland. I identify simply as an American. My "hero" would likely be someone like Mark Twain, who wrote beautifully on American life and culture.
• Diderot, De Sade, Locke, Thomas Jefferson, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, the Wright Brothers
• Harriet tubman, communist New Afrikan Guerilla and Co-op organizer/ entrepreneur
• Louis Kossuth
• I'm part of the civil engineering industry, and frankly I think we need to celebrate the heroes that provide us with safe transportation and clean water. Things that truly make America great for everyone. Maybe someone who brought fire safety codes to Columbus, or started a hospital for the poor. I'm sure some crackpot would
accuse them of white saviourism, but I say we need to encourage more people to help their fellow citizens. Thank you for listening!
• Tecumseh or Senator John Glenn. One, fought for the survival of his people and his brothers, even when the odds were stacked against him. He stopped his men from torturing prisoners when it was heavily engrained in their culture and some would argue that they had a right to. Senator Glenn served his country first by fighting in WW2 and then as an Astronaut and finally as a Senator of Ohio. He continued to serve after he was done being a Senator. He gave his whole life in pursuit of the world being a better place, serving his country and recognition that we are all brothers.
• Not applicable.
• i'm not a hero-worshiper. i prefer monuments like the Vietnam Vets Memorial Wall to individual figures from the past
• Maybe our true heroes haven't emerged yet.
• Wilma Pearl Mankiller the first female vice principal and principal chief of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma . because she cared about her people in the midst of tremendous odds of having to do with not even her own tribe not thinking that she could become a principal chief and yet she did it and because of what she had done it opened the door for so many indigenous women to not only run for tribal office yet for local, state, national office. and paved the way to make my tribal nation more better off than it has even been before.
• Yo Yo Ma. He is a consummate expert at his craft. His skill is legendary. He brings beauty and emotion to the world. He is innovative and upholds others, using his talent and stage to provide a place for unique musicians to thrive. He accompanies others in their primary performance! He makes space for others to thrive. He goes into the world with a message of peace, between people, nations and nature. He has time for little kids and isn’t afraid to be silly.
• The great hero to most Italians is Garibaldi who unified Italy. Ironically he lived in exile in Staten Island. So he would have been a good symbol at the time of major Italian immigration to the US. Instead it was Columbus because he was a convenient ready made American symbol who was handed off to the Italian community
• An animal or non-human symbol. They can't be exposed and disappoint me.
• Christopher Columbus is a hero in my Italian American culture. All these democrats and historians need to stop attacking Columbus, stop attacking the Italian culture, stop spreading hate and lies about historical figures, and support the cultures who identify with these famous historians that were made into statues; especially Christopher Columbus Statues. New Haven is a prime example of a city that has disregarded and disrespected Italian culture by taking away the Columbus Statue that was given to Italians in Wooster Square and has been standing there for decades. This needs to stop
• Cristoforo Colombo sailed the path (4 times) that Italian immigrants followed. He even was close to being named a saint!
• Christopher Columbus
• Columbus
• Christopher Columbus
• Columbus, Vespucci, Verrazano, Filippo Mazzei, etc. We should be allowed to choose our own heroes and not have them dictated to us by others. Could you imagine non black people telling African Americans "we don't like your choice of MLK because of his association with violence against women, so we are going to make you pick a new one." It's preposterous. It seems like society is ok with memorializations of Italians that depict us as destitute and poor immigrants to be saved by Anglo Saxon America, but not ones that show us as heroic, intrepid people who actually played a fundamental role in the establishment of America from its discovery, roots in Roman law, and influence of Italian
Americans.
• Christopher Columbus
• Not sure
• It’s about telling the complete story, the shared histories the complexities of what happened in the Americas. It’s not about one person but many instances. For me this mural represents that. https://mexicana.cultura.gob.mx/es/ repositorio/detalle?id=_suri:MNH :TransObject:5dfa62b77a8a0240e40326b2
• a BIPOC female educator
• Patsy Mink, Patty Murray. Sonia Soyomator.
• I don't believe hero-based leadership. I believe in the community, the land, and the pursuit of equilibrium with nature.
• In my culture, we challenge ourselves to be our own role models, using our imagination to envision who we want to become and training to embody that version of who we are.
• Marsha P. Johnson. Or other figures that have helped champion safety for Columbus' lgbtq residents.
• A prominent native American or a Native American symbol should replace the Columbus Statue.
• Cristoforo Columbus a brave explorer
• Leave the spot where the statue was empty and add a plaque describing how this was canceled.
• My granddad, because he embodied all the qualities you'd want most in a grandparent.
• Malcolm X: " The truth doesn't change, only your awareness of it"
• Again not about me. Conductors on the underground railroad.
• Barney the Dinosaur.
• It is me. I am healed and healing, creating positive relationships + connections. Being aware of trauma but not passing that on. My kids are free and able to move forward to build a better world.
• James Connolly, a labor leader and writer who led
to many labor reforms and advances in workers rights in Ireland.
• Audre Lorde she pushed many boundaries
• Emma Goldman.
• John Brown the abolitionist.
• Frederick Douglass.
• Harriet Tubman.
• Fred Hampton.
• Tecumseh.
• Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton.
• Was so talented at revolutionary organizing. The Illinois state police & FBI conspired to murder him at 21 years old.
• Either him or Tecumseh
• U.S. American-- Abraham Lincoln. Work ethic.
• The culture creates a space(s) that allows one/ many to dream and listen from the past to develop new stories, identities, roots.
• I am white and capitalism is the culture that is forced on me. The hero of white wealthy people is the dollar. it is their hero and most other white people because they believe that $$ will solve all their problems
• Maya Angelou. She took pain + history and put it in black + white.
• Emma Lazarus.
In what ways do you connect with the statue (or not)?
• I read Christopher Columbus' journal, and it reflects how powerful Europeans thought of indigenous people at the time. Well... they didn't really think of them as people. They thought of them as either slaves, objects to be raped, or "savages" that are in the way of Europeans' access to land and resources. Do not pretend that early Europeans and their successors didn't come to the "New World" purely to kill and steal. That is exactly what Christopher Columbus' trip to this continent started. And choosing to continue
celebrating that with a monument is simply an attempt to keep that culture and behavior alive.
• The guy put us on the map.
• Other than through known history, and the fact that Columbus, Ohio, has been called Columbus since it's founding, The name has no real connection to Ohio. We have attempted in the past to engage the public with Cultural exhibitions and Ship replicas, and each time, the public has essentially shrugged in disinterest. We could just as easily be called Scioto City, Ohio or any other name.
• It reminds me of how we got here - both the good and the bad. It's food for thought about how much our American society has evolved from those beginnings and how much more we should continue to evolve toward our own "new world" ideal.
• It makes me sad. I think of it as harbinger of disease, wars of conquest and broken promises.
• This is a hard one since it connects our sister city, Genoa Italy. I like being tied to Italy. I have mixed feelings 1- that an artist made this and true art could be looked @ as a good thing 2When I think of Columbus, I think of lies, rape, bloodshed— honoring a false figure that does not represent our city or it’s inhabitants.
• We were part of the community of organizers who actively sought to recall historic crimes represented by the slave ship and the city hall monument. Since 1991, We planned annual demonstrations.
• Italian American
• I feel it represented a man who took great risks to come to this country.
• The statute was never particularly important to me aside from it being the city's namesake. Although Columbus the man has a complicated history with some very negative associations, I don't believe our city needs to be burdened by that. We have an opportunity to be our own Columbus without needing to harken back to our namesake. After all, a child should not bear the
crimes of his father just because he has the same name.
• A substantial gift of public art.
• I connect with it because I was raised Catholic and I recognize that the veneration of Christopher Columbus is part of the Knights of Columbus' concerted efforts to normalize Catholicism in a Protestant country. I don't connect to it because I am no longer Catholic. I don't think Christopher Columbus is worth venerating. I think the City of Columbus needs to divorce its branding from a 15th-century explorer who was censured for inventing slavery.
• Columbus was both good Christian person and great seaman. Deeply religious, his desire to explore came first, God a close second. He believed his missions equal parts find a shortcut to the Indies and orient sailing east and spreading Christianity to any and all especially newly discovered people. In that era this happened regularly. Columbus was very much engaged and supportive. Leaving his motives peaceful and zero interest in fighting, killing, enslaving. They were friendly, trade trinkets. The men on his ships, many were single-mindedly focused on gold, but not Columbus. Discovered tribes proved both peaceful and warlike and shades in between. All this is in the book.” “Columbus holds up surprisingly well against 1,000’s of his contemporary explorers.
• I was taught that mythology to the exclusion of all other stories.
• Not connected. I wonder the placement of the statue on the south side of the city hall campus was original or not. Do we know where it was first installed?
• The history of his acts have directly impacted myself through my ancestors
• I am a sculptor, so I naturally relate to the three dimensional form. My grandfather was a sculptor from Italy and made the choice to venture out and make a new life for himself and his family in America.
• I connect through my former membership in the Knights of Columbus, but that's about it. I don't feel that Christopher Columbus provides much connection for me.
• I wanna connect a chain and truck n pawn it and give the money to at risk indigenous youth in the city. Because I believe that there are far better ways to explore the legacy of Christopher Columbus
• I was 5 yrs old when it was gifted to the city of Columbus. I feel no connection other than it represents a link with Genoa.
• two of my grandparents were born in Italy, so I feel connected that way. Also, growing up learning about pioneers, brave explorers, etc.
• I don't connect with it. It does have powerful meaning of genocide, racism and slavery, so I try not to give it any power. I'm much more inspired by Tecumseh, Pontiac and Blue Jacket to name a few Native American leaders.
• It makes sense to have our namesake honored.
• This work of art by renowned Italian modern sculptor Edoardo Alfieri is an icon not so much reminiscent of the 15th C. navigator, who had no real connection to our city, but of our 19th C origins and the mysterious circumstances of our city's name and identity.
• I recognize that many Italian Americans still feel pride associated with Christopher Columbus, but that pride is based in myth, not fact.
• I DO NOT CONNECT WITH A STATUE THAT HAS TO DO WITH RACISM AND SEXISM. NO STATUE THAT HAS TO WITH COLUMBUS SHOULD EVER BE ON INDIGIOUS LAND
• It makes me sad. Glorifying someone who in their own time was seen as brutal for doing something that had already been done and for mixed up reasons. Honoring bullies as heroes
• I never really paid much attention until about ten years ago when there was more obvious negative comments about Columbus statues and it made me suddenly realize that it was a symbol of Italian
American heritage and the struggles that those immigrants faced when they were trying to be seen as good newly arrived US citizens
• I don't connect with it at all.
• I am Italian and growing up I always identified with Columbus because 1) he was of Italian decent and 2) because he was one of the only historical figures in history that I grew up learning about that was Italian. I am proud to know that my ancestors came from the same country as him, and that there is a famous historical figure in history from Italy that made a difference in the lives of so many and upheld the traits of courage, persevere, determination, kindness, and did many great deeds. We were taught to look up to Columbus and that's the way it should continue to be. There was none of this racist hate that historians keep spreading around, there was none of this twisting of history to make a famous figure look bad- there was none of that. We were taught the truth about Columbus. It's pretty sad how Italian history is not taught to children all across America because Italians helped to build this country, including Christopher Columbus.
• As a second generation Italian-American, Columbus represents my cultural heritage and my identity as an American.
• He makes proud of being an Italian American.
• I am Italian American and this statue makes me feel seen and heard as part of the development of our nation. I think sadly contributions of Italian Americans are often overlooked.
• I'm a proud Italian American.
• Columbus represents my community's way of fighting to establish ourselves in the story of America against all odds. Ahistorical character assassinations of Columbus are simply not supported by the historical evidence, yet we continue to let this mythology define the dialogue and remove monuments that working class and poor immigrant communities erected to fight prejudice. Removing these statues flies in the face of why they were erected to begin with. This is symbol rebranded ethnic prejudice.
• Pride in America and Italian Americans
• No connection, I don't connect with statues.
• I do not connect with it. It’s a symbol that honors Europeans importation from colonial mindset. That was built on terror to plunder and demolish nations of people for resources. Which is still in play in our current times.
• It is a constant reminder that my people were brutally murdered, raped and displaced
• It makes me feel the public is being misled about our history. It makes me want to change things.
• I don't connect with the statue. It is a source of shame, along with the name of the city. I talk about living in "Ohio," and only use the name Columbus when it can't possibly be avoided. It feels like I support the mythology of "discovery" when I'm forced to use the city's name. It's not a name, it's a curse. When we're liberated of the name, we'll finally be able to move forward and have a unique identity as a city.
• The statue, and Columbus as a symbol, resonates with me as a wanderer of the earth in search of greatness. The statue, in my mind, is a reminder of what legacy comes from perseverance and belief.
• I connect with it because I feel like it represents a bad part of our history where we unjustly hurt and took from native people.
• I don't, but it is a piece of history that should be in a museum with proper context
• As an Italian American I'm proud that our sister city is Genoa, Italy and the namesake of our city, we shouldn’t hide from uncomfortable history but learn from it.
• I do not personally connect with the statue and see it as a statue commemorating a racist, genocidal, colonizer, who never stepped foot on this land.
• The statue of a man of great consequence erased in the style of soviet propaganda.
• I don't connect with the statue of a man who
helped projects of colonial violence and colonial culture that
• killed, destroyed, stole Indigenous cultures.
• I definitely DO NOT connect w/ that statue, or any representations of Chris Columbus or his so-called discovery, including the replica ship formerly docked here.
• I do not connect with the statue. statues are to be celebrated and Christopher Columbus is not a man to be celebrated. He did horrible acts to indigenous people.
• Thumbs down >:( (my face)
• I only connect with it because the city won't get rid of it permanently. I have no positive association with it.
• The statue is a symbol of hostility toward everybody who is not in favor of total domination and subjugation and slaughter in service of white supremacy.
• I think it's shameful that the city of Columbus left it standing for as long as it did, and am glad it was removed.
• I'm Asian American and for that reason i just do not have any connection to the statue my country are not historical colonizers
• I try not to connect with the statue except to view Columbus as a rapist and destroyer of the Taino people. The Native culture of the Caribbean Island occupied by Columbus and his crew.
• I do not connect with the statue at all and personally would not care if it went into storage for the foreseeable future.
• Proud of Italian generosity and heritage.
• It is the namesake of our city. Why would we abandon it?
• I do not identify with the statue. I see the statue as antiquated.
for that kind of behavior to be presented in the middle of our city. I have been to Rome and seen Neo-Nazi/fascist neighborhoods there and the graffiti, posters, etc. they leave behind for public view--you do not want to invite that kind of hatred into your city unless you support it.
• Vandalism
• Not so much fear, but concern about spending potentially millions on a (admittedly attractive) public space to essentially both hide, and amplify it's presence. I'd rather see it combined in a location not near downtown; Perhaps Franklin Park, and combined with other art that once celebrated Columbus. The Conservatory's NavStar sculpture, a remnant of Ameriflora92, also shares a connection to Columbus and is due to be relocated to a more accessible, if not less prominent location within Franklin Park.
• I fear that people will fail to judge Columbus in the context of the time in which he liveda brutal time in world history when conflict, conquest, and slavery were common (and even revered) throughout his known world.
• It will reignite controversy and become a culture war magnet when we need to come together.
• Same thing, this is not my home city, city of birth yet this statute coming back to a place of prominence here is a mistake. We have so many new Americans here, especially in Columbus, Ohio. There is a spreading word of fear and hate since the inauguration. I know that misinformation is spreading through cultures, especially African diaspora— that green card or not, legal status or not that you will be taken away. We cannot install this statue and ignore who we stand for as a welcoming city.
• Nothing fearful, just another example of colonization winning
• How long it is taking!
What do you fear about the statue being reinstalled?
• We have seen Neo-Nazi groups rallying in other parts of Ohio... this is an invitation and location
• I fear people who want to ignore history good or bad will complain use the statue as a teaching opportunity.
• Not really a fear, but I think the statue would be
a distraction from Columbus (the city) moving forward and developing its identity.
• Inappropriate reactions
• I fear that the statue's reinstallation will be viewed as an endorsement of the idea that Christopher Columbus did nothing wrong. I fear that vandals will be punished disproportionately because of the statue's undue political weight. I fear that the presence of the statue will be viewed as an endorsement of racism.
• Zero
• We should not have taken it down but it should be called out for what it is and other narratives should be represented next to it.
• I don't fear about it being reinstalled. I'd like to see it being recontextualized
• The City will send a message of complacency and faux tolerance
• I am concerned that if it were to be installed at an elevated level, as before, it will be vandalized. My feeling is that, if reinstalled, it should be placed at pedestrian level, with signage that tells the truth about the man, his mission, his accomplishments, and his violations, a being with human frailties.
• The reinstallation of the statue will be seen as a symbol of the City of Columbus' commitment to the legacy of a man whose contemporaries found him criminally abusive, who was the founder of slavery in the Americas.
• It will be a waste of tax payer $
• If it goes back to it's place at City Hall I fear more protests.
• If it is re-installed near City Hall, I fear it will be used for graffiti, and also as a negative rallying point for protests of all sorts. Columbus today is only taught a greedy, brutal man who started colonialism and all of its harms, and as the Mayor said, that's certainly not what our city is about.
• We just had a march by masked Neo-Nazis. This would be a point of interest for those fringe groups. I definitely wouldn't want to be reinstalled in the same space that it was. Maybe reach out
to other cities that have chose to remove statues and put all the objectionable statues in one place? It could be a reflection park where people can visit and be reminded of how far we have come as a society as these figures are no longer simply celebrated.
• I hope the uneducated citizens will not vandalize it again.
• nothing. It belongs to the city of Columbus as a gift of the city of Genoa. As Hakeem Jeffries recently noted, we must remember our past, not hide it or hide from it.
• If it is installed as it was, it will perpetuate the false myth. If it is installed in full context, it will upset those who still revere Columbus.
• THAT IT WILL BE REINSTALLED AND THAT SHALL NOT HAPPEN BECAUSE IF IT GETS REINSTALLED IT WILL GO DOWN. IN THE WORDS OF MALCOM X BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!
• There will be no context and it will cause divisiveness and perpetuation of a false and onesided narrative
• People misunderstanding the statue as a symbol of hate, when it is in fact a symbol of trying to overcome hatred
• It is now a culture war symbol and will empower the white supremacist groups of Ohio.
• I do not fear anything. Any state or town that has a Columbus statue should keep it exactly the way it is. Those statues should not be torn down or replaced. These statues need to be protected and people need to be taught not to harm statues. People need to be taught that history is what is is and if a statue was made of a famous historical figure it is because that historical figure had good qualities that everyone should look up to.
• I do not have a fear, I have a hope that all representatives of the community will publicly advocate for the acceptance of the reinstalled Columbus statue. Even though it may have a different meaning for some than others, all people, including those who positively view
Columbus, are respected.
• Nothing, it should be done ASAP
• Nothing. It should never have been taken down. The true history of the meaning of Columbus needs to be recognized not lies about the explorer.
• Nothing. Bashing of Columbus has been based on lies, cherry-picked text and half truths. Without Columbus the exchange of cultures would not have happened for many more years or even decades.
• Nothing. It should not be an issue. This is leaps and bounds different than Confederate monuments that were erected as forms of intimidation. On the contrary, removing or tearing down these Columbus monuments is a form of intimidation that should not be tolerated. The special prejudice that exists for Columbus is not supported by historical facts and is the fruit of a decades long process to tarnish his name by radicals. Although well-intentioned, this movement is misguided and has descended into a Bonfire of the Vanities seeking to remove any reference to things deemed heretical. It must no longer be tolerated.
• nothing
• Nothing, it should be reinstalled
• We haven’t learned the necessary lessons, and no historical context will be implemented. It will come in a watered down form, and not inform the entire story from all that came in contact with his paradigm of brutality. Will there be a pile of bloody cut off hands at the base os his sculpture for those who didn’t collect their quota of gold (resources). Will there be a typographic design element of his own words from his diary. If you want to place it back you have to tell the complete story not the white savior of the modern world.
• white supremacist being proud of colonization
• I don’t think it should be reinstalled. It perpetuates a story that erases Indigenous and Native peoples.
• I fear that it would continue to be an emblem of Native erasure and violence. Monuments force us to look up at them, so anywhere the statue appears, unless it is clearly treated as a danger and a trauma, it will continue to tell it's beholders to look up at him and idolize his legacy.
• Looking forward to the evolving conversation around the Columbus statue and what it means to our community, I do not fear the reinstallation of the statue at all.
• It would say that Ohio think this figure is someone to look up to.
• Christopher Columbus shouldn't be honored. He should be remembered as a piece of history, but not honored
• Nothing.
• I only fear that the statue may be defaced. My recommendation is to place a plaque by the statue describing both his accomplishments as well as his shortcomings. What good is history if not to learn from it.
• False glorification of oppression + exploitation.
• What Indigenous + Latinx children would think about a genocidal colonizer memorialized in front of City Hall.
• 1. Continued divisiveness in our community 2. The city of cbus being on this issue
• To put an image of a man who has committed genocide makes me fearful of the culture of this city and the
• responsibility of respecting peoples pain and of the genocide and displacement of indigenous peoples.
• HATE.
• That a process wasn't engaging with the community of Columbus. City doesn't know how to engage + meet the community where they are.
• Everything chaos (drawing of the town on fire).
• Not much, but it would be a waste of money since in time it will be destroyed.
• I fear rising fascism
• Shocked, dismayed, mad as hell, confused as to what was then the point of spending $2 million on all this just to potentially put it back??? Its retraumatizing as hell, feel like the city is gaslighting tf outta us.
• Renewed commitment to a culture of white supremacy.
• I fear my daughter growing up in a community that promotes colonialism + white supremacy.
• Supporting colonialism. anti-native racism being supported in Columbus, hurting education.
• Nothing, I fear it not being reinstalled.
• 1. It was a gift to the city
• 2. It is art
• 3. And without it being reinstalled it would be a form of discrimination against Italian Americans.
• The nature of statues and monuments is to venerate something and how could this statue be reinstalled without it continuing to express that this individual is to be respected and revered. And so I fear a reinstallation cannot overcome the nature of this and will prevent us moving forward.
• I fear that we are choosing to honor false heroes and the erased history of POC struggle that is rewritten in books and denied by many.
• That Columbus is unwilling to listen to its people, that it would rather dig back up the blood on its hands to put on a pedestal, than to move forward w/ building something to be proud of that honors all its people (or at a bare minimum, doesn't celebrate genocide & enslavement.)
• Rioters. Loss of hope.
• I am white and I have nothing to fear. I do fear for my friends who are native, black, and brown being attacked, oppressed or shot in the "culture" of Columbus.
• These statues are sensitive, and I fear that they may incite fear, discomfort, or even violence. Columbus was a product of his time, just a man. Stop idolizing imperfect people.
• It'd be kinda cringe lmao.
• White male empiricists continuing to represent the US population, idealizing the violence at the history of our country.
• Fear that putting it back up is not addressing the concerns of the large BIPOC population that make up Columbus, glorifying colonizers, and not recognizing Indigenous history on this land.
• I would fear that if the statue is reinstalled, that it will not be effectively recontextualized. Will a counter-monument be effective in removing the statue's power?
• That it will represent oppression outwardly if not explicit in its non-verbal design.
• I worry that if the statue is reinstalled without appropriate curation, it could potentially continue to promote the myth of Columbus.
• That since it is such a complex symbol with so many meanings that are strongly felt, ethical interpretation will be elusive and a moving target in a pluralistic and inequitable society.
• Signaling an unwillingness to learn and change. If we can’t make symbolic change, how can we make systematic change?
• Those that want the statue reinstated probably do not have enough invested in history to know the truth, but are more interested in maintaining the status quo, or their image of hero worshipping.
BUTCHER PAPER NOTES
• Any culture as a place where privilege/oppression is both challenged+reaffirmed. most cultures possess some form of hierarchy.
• Rename this city.
• Interconnection.
• Obviousness is boring :D :c :p ^w^
• Anger is an energy
• Germans --> western OH colonizing in 1820's-50's refugees why are you here golden rule family is the solution.
• Consent.
• Germans-- 1840's.
• Consent---> colonizations.
• Not caged does not equal free.
• Challenging truths: slavery -perpetuating slavery + racism -addiction.
• Essence of my culture? best/worst art/violence.
• Not knowing your ancestral culture is frustrating / is good because you are open to other cultures.
• Culture @worst = no trust/ -alcoholism/drugs -rape/murder -violence/suicide active + passive trauma.
• Culture @best = universal connection/ceremony and openness/peace action/experience.
• How does adoption impart one's cultural development.
• There is a desire to learn more about one's cultural identity –
• Culture at its best+ worst -- creating, sports worst - no trust, violence.
• Methods-principles of cultures to heal withinacross communities.
• Be acceptive of different cultures +lifestyles+religions/ you may disagree but be acceptive.
• Be open about your trauma.
• At best- strength, love, empathy, collaboration, unity.
• At worst- suppression, discriminator, distant. segregate, single mindedness, fearful.
• Re: social media. why don't you just go to the events?
• Humor, reckless fun.
• No ID? How do you ID? Mom's side? Dad's side? Who am i?
• Our stories ALL have value.
• Methods+ principles, listening, laughing, treating yourself in the form of being generous, resilience, showing up, I'm still looking.
• Acceptance of a tribe is my liability.
• Community is what the next generation will miss.
• >listening >genuine interest in others >generosity when there isn't much.
• Cultural identity identify as AA lost culture --> religion, dress, language, socialization, community, gender difference, family makeup, behaviors.
• Pieces--> missing discussions about heritage +culture.
• Essence (feeling safe vs. unsafe.)
• Ancestral memory.
• Growth mindset -resilience> reframe it so that it is a choice and not a response to oppressioncommunity.
• Worst/ isolationism best/ healthy community, security.
• Hirbawi.
• Cultural roots.
• Culture is inherited, chosen, explored, taught
• Colonizer shame.
• What challenging truths have been inherited?
• What methods can we take from our culture to grow.
• Thank you for all of your honesty...
• What parts of your culture are you celebrating? BE AWARE!
• This is Arawak city
• If we get along we can be led *indiscernible** we will be ruled.
• Not being able to know my exact family lineage.
• Being more aware of actions.
• Not being able to represent their cultural lineage accurately/appropriately.
• Something beneficial from our culture that can respond to questionable things we have heard today.
• (The) idea that we are owed something because we donated $ or goods but solidarity and community support calls us to put aside the feelings that our sacrifices are owed something by our government and instead, support our neighbors.
• Asking who isn't able to give their opinion today -native people who first lived in this area -nonenglish speakers -disabled people who can't come in-person.
• No word for "love" --> universal connectedness ---> to the universe
• What methods/ principles would you use from your culture to heal in & across communities?
• Tribalism of insular feelings keep division alive.
• Self-reliance, fear, solidarity, self-love, selfperception, resiliency micro/macro.
• Tribalism.
• Feel the PAIN lose the FEAR be TRANSPARENT.
• Worst- insular, conflict, despite, similar goals.
• Best- community, resilience, support.
• Insular.
• Love.
• Insular is worst of culture.
• Culture can perpetuate "others" elitism tribalism.
• Culture at best- aspirational at worst- insular.
• How is fear a motivator? How is it a detractor?
• Heal with +across communities speak truth, find shared values, knowledge, connection approach with love, grace, to learn and grow find unity together as a community.
• Show love to others/yourself
• Be empathetic
• Let others know that they can be the 1st to go to college.
• Fear- survival mode, perspective manipulated.
• How can we avoid repeating the past failures of our historical cultures?
• Resiliency/ humor.
• Sensitivity/ resilience, civic life, life b? -colorblind.
• Is the bad in the past?
• Is culture in the present or past?
• Do we live culture today?
• Experiment called community.
• $ Shouldn't buy a place for a statue.
• The same person can have a colonized and colonizer history. Each person has a different thought process in how they react to their history.
• How can we build a new culture that takes the climate reality into consideration?
• Best/ -celebratory -emotionally dialed in -food+family -jewish celebratory and sharing of traditions -“west side cracker"
• Fear shuts down education +conversation.
• Worst/ perception of me when I walk in the room -mod/ godfather references -jewish community right now is "batting down the hatch" in fear. -"politics" placed in everything
• Develop a new agreed culture together as a community.
• Find, share values and understanding to build connections.
Engagement Approach
1. Sankofa.org, "The meaning of SANKOFA," accessed July 31, 2025, https://sankofa.org/about
FIGURES
Engagement Approach
FIGURE 2.0. Behemoth Digital, "Sankofa Adinkra African symbol for retrieval," Adobe Stock. https://stock.adobe.com/images/ sankofa-adinkra-african-symbol-for-retrieval/1292859816?prev_url=detail
