Columbus Statue Thrown In Lake By Demonstrators At "Stand With Indigenous Peoples March" In Byrd Park

Ahead of a planned evening demonstration in support of Indigenous Peoples an unknown individual logged into Google Maps and relocated the Christopher Columbus statue’s geographic coordinates from its familiar pedestal to the center of the Byrd Park’s Fountain Lake, further they indicated the monument’s status as “Permanently Closed.” Several hours later this update would prove prescient with the sculpture sinking to the murky bottom of the lake.

The Christopher Columbus statue was no stranger to controversy even dating back to its construction in 1925. Initially the Richmond Italian-American community wanted to construct the statue on Monument Avenue but the city council of the time rejected their wishes on the basis that Columbus was both a foreigner and a Catholic, they also believed it was inappropriate for the figure to share a public space with prominent confederate figures celebrating “The Lost Cause”. The clash over the Columbus statue’s placement drew national attention when it was revealed a prominent member of the coalition opposing its construction was also a Ku Klux Klan member.

Following the outrage the city council offered a compromise location at southern terminus of the Boulevard adjacent to the city reservoir. With the city’s approval the local Italian community raised funds to commission the statue and construct it with the monument unveiled in December of 1927.  In yet another historic twist Governor Harry F. Byrd, future leader of Virginia’s racist massive resistance effort participated in the unveiling and praised the fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini who sent his envoy from Washington to attend the unveiling.

For much of the 20^th century the statue stood without drawing much controversy but as the country’s views on the explorer’s legacy changed so did attitudes toward the statue. Starting around 2010 it was not uncommon for vandals to tag the statue once or twice a year with paint declaring him a “MURDERER” or red paint tossed upon the pedestal to signify blood. Such incidents would draw scrutiny and even the smallest of attacks by vandals would be frontpage news in the Richmond media.  

Despite the displeasure with Columbus there had never been a coordinated protest against the statue and what it represented until the days of unrest in the summer of 2020. On June 8 a flyer circulated on social media promoting a march on Byrd Park to “Stand With Indigenous Peoples”. The flyer declared “This monument to genocide must come down, along with the rest of the Confederate monuments in Richmond.” In the background was a transparent image of the statue.

Later another more militant flyer circulated on social media proclaiming “NO MORE COLONIZERS ENSLAVERS  MURDERERS” overlaid on paint splattered photo of the Columbus statue.

On the evening of June 9^th demonstrators began gathering around South Arthur Ashe Boulevard adjacent to the statue around 6 PM. Before the event even began the statue pedestal was already splattered with red paint by an unknown vandal.

By 6:30 hundreds had gathered with signs and speakers climbed up to speak to the motivated crowd. A reporter at the event estimated the crowd at around a thousand and despite the large attendance no law enforcement were visible near the park grounds.

Around 7:15 PM with another hour of daylight the crowds departed Byrd Park and marched north on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Filling the northbound travel lanes, the crowd led by honking cars alternated chants between “Out of your house, Into the street!”, “Fuck 12” and “Who’s Streets? Powhatan.”

Reaching the Stonewall Jackson monument at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Arthur Ashe Boulevard the crowds circled around and headed south towards Byrd Park. Arriving at the park around 8:20 PM the enthusiastic crowd gathered once more around the Columbus statue as activists yelled speeches through their handheld megaphones and fired up the crowd. Some individuals also engaged in a variety of performances and dance in celebration of their indigenous cultures.

Just before 8:50 PM vandals climbed the statue pedestal and tied ropes around it. The word went out to those in close proximity: “MASKS UP! CAMERAS OFF!” and with no law enforcement anywhere to be seen eager volunteers stepped up and tugged at the ropes.

It would take a surprisingly little amount of effort to topple the statue which crashed to the pavement nearly striking a man during the collapse. With the statue on the ground demonstrators kicked it and one tossed a burning American flag on it in celebration.

With the ropes still attached to it members of the crowd dragged the statue towards Fountain Lake leaving a scrape mark along the pavement before giving it a final push into the water. Demonstrators gathered around the lake for a few minutes in shared celebration of their accomplishment with some nearby choosing to launch fireworks.

Not long after the vandalism the state police helicopter was brought in and law enforcement cleared out the area around the park.

With the statue successfully toppled and the crowds pleased with the developments the evening of unrest ended without further incident.

The following morning the city contracted a towing company to retrieve the statue from Fountain Lake where it was then loaded onto a flatbed tow truck and hauled away to an undisclosed location.

Read More:

• Richmond Magazine - Columbus Discovered
• Richmond Times-Dispatch - The story of the Christopher Columbus statue in Byrd Park
• Richmond Times-Dispatch - Columbus statue removed from lake Wednesday after it was torn down at Byrd Park late Tuesday
• WRIC 8 - Christopher Columbus statue at Byrd Park torn down, thrown into lake