Columbus Statue To Be Booted From Silicon Valley City Hall

SAN JOSE (AP) — Leaders of Silicon Valley's largest city have voted to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from San Jose's City Hall lobby.

The Mercury News reports that the Italian American community has six weeks to find a new home for the statue or it will be put in storage. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday could not agree on another public place to move the statue.

For some, the statue represents the glorification of a European man whose arrival in America led to the decimation of indigenous people. But others say the statue is part of history and a proud symbol of the contributions of Italian-Americans, who also suffered discrimination in America.

San Francisco this month became the latest city to replace the Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day.

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