Check out this artifact and brief description of the Monongahela culture that may have lived in our area around the time that Columbus arrive in the Caribbean. Be sure to enlarge the included images and read any text on the them.
This is a graphic novel- an example of retelling a true story about ways that that European Colonizers interacted with the people who were already living in the area. This story has previously been told from the colonizer's perspective, but the graphic novel tells the story from the point of view of the Conestoga people. Be sure to click on the little 'i' icons to learn about the illustrator's methods and artistic choices. *Please note that the story is about a massacre and while the illustrator uses visual metaphors for the most violent parts, it directly addresses the violent and cruel ways that the Europeans treated their victims.
Frank Vittor sculpted the Christopher Columbus statue that was installed in Schenley Park. He himself immigrated from Italy. Learn more about his legacy here.
Read about this statue created by Kehinde Wiley. Wiley is also famous for painting the portrait of President Barack Obama that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
This article provides some ideas and suggestions for ways to give old statues new context or ways to replace them. It is long- use the bold subheadings to skim and find ideas that might fit your plans.
Read about changes the museums have made to both the name and location of this piece because of the ways that it perpetuates stereotypes and its historical inaccuracies.
Listen to or read this interview with a representative of the Mellon Foundation. In October the Foundation offered a $250 million grant to support communities who want to reimagine monuments.
Watch this video to learn about a sculpture in London's Trafalgar Square. The Fourth Plinth is an area there meant for statues. Instead of choosing one statue, a commission was created and the artwork changes over time.
How do different groups remember Christopher Columbus
This Deutsche Welle article highlights how Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States, Spain, and Latin America--and some of the different names used around the world.
Watch this video discussing protests throughout Latin America on the day commemorating Columbus's arrival in the Americas and statues that have been removed.
This article from The Bubble highlights the removal of a Christopher Columbus in Buenos Aires by the Argentine president, objections by Buenos Aires's mayor and Italian community, and its replacement with a statue of mestiza (mixed race Indigenous and Spanish woman) Juana Azurduy donated by the Bolivian government.
This article from the Washington Post reflects on the legacy of Columbus and other colonizers in Puerto Rico (the only current US territory Columbus ever saw) as activists both there and in the States call for the removal of symbols of oppression.
