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Italian-Americans want Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to return Christopher Columbus statue to park

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Published  July 24, 2022 9:50pm CDT
Chicago
FOX 32 Chicago

Protesters want Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to return state of Christopher Columbus to park

The protesters say it's not fair that Christopher Columbus is "getting blamed for all our problems in the world," and they want Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to put his statue back.

CHICAGO - A group of Italian-Americans gathered on Sunday to ask Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to return a statue of Christopher Columbus to a park.

Two statues of Columbus were removed from Grant Park and Arrigo Park two years ago, after they became the focus of protests.

"We deserve our statues back," said Diana Falco. "We cannot erase history and just take down anyone's statue that represents their ethnicity and culture."

"They're blaming Christopher Columbus for all our problems in this world, which is not fair to Christopher Columbus, and it isn't fair to the Italian-Americans in Chicago," said Frank Coconate.

A spokesperson for the mayor said they have no comment right now, but will be sharing a report and recommendations from the Chicago Monuments Project in the coming weeks.