A new statue of Christopher Columbus went up on the White House grounds Sunday that was built using pieces from a monument to the Italian explorer that protesters destroyed six years ago.
The 13-foot, one-ton replica of a Columbus statue toppled in Baltimore in 2020 – then dumped into the city’s inner harbor – was commissioned by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations and is part of the White House’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
The statue has been placed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Artists retrieved shards of marble belonging to the wrecked statue from the harbor that were used in the recreation – and reached out to the White House after officials in Baltimore refused to put the new monument up, according to the organization.
“Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,” Basil M. Russo, the conference’s president, said in a statement. “For over a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country.
“Columbus Day itself emerged in the aftermath of the 1891 New Orleans lynching, when 11 Italian immigrants were killed by a mob of thousands, an event that prompted a national effort to promote the acceptance and assimilation of Italian Americans,” Russo continued. “This history remains central to why these monuments matter.”
Baltimore’s Columbus statue was torn down in July 2020 by Black Lives Matter activists, who argued the Italian explorer was responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas.
The statue was owned by the city and dedicated in 1984 by former Mayor William Donald Schaefer and former President Ronald Reagan.
At the time of the statue’s destruction, a spokesperson for Baltimore’s then Mayor Jack Young said the monument “may represent different things to different people.”
“We understand the dynamics that are playing out in Baltimore are part of a national narrative,” the spokesperson told the Baltimore Sun.
President Trump signed a proclamation last year hailing Columbus as an American hero.
“Columbus Day — we’re back, Italians,” Trump declared after signing the proclamation. “We love the Italians.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
