Local Italian Americans and supporters of Syracuse’s statue of Christopher Columbus quietly laid a wreath at the base of the controversial structure Monday in downtown Syracuse.
The yearly Columbus Day tradition continues, even though the future of the statue is in limbo, following a court decision allowing the city to remove the statue.
Columbus Monument Corporation member Anthony Ilacqua said he’d like to see more discussion about Columbus and the statue, between supporters and the city.
"There's a common narrative out there that I think people just accept without any intellectual curiosity," Ilacqua said. "Without doing any research or understanding who the man was and what the times were. There's so much to that and you don't just throw him away.”
Opponents of the statue point to the violence against Native Americans by Columbus, as a reason for taking the statue down.
The two sides faced off during a rally this weekend. There was no opposition to the wreath laying Monday.
The city is in the midst of determining what to do in light of the latest court decision, with Mayor Ben Walsh on record preferring the creation of a heritage and education site recognizing all peoples that call Syracuse home.
