Minnesota wants to replace Christopher Columbus statue with Prince monument

A couple of weeks ago, white supremacists took to Charlottesville, Virginia to rally around a statue of Robert E. Lee. The images coming out of Charlottesville, the resulting counter protests, and the death of a protestor, put the issue of confederate statues in the spotlight.

As a country we have to examine exactly who we celebrate in the public sphere and what that person may represent to all Americans.

Frankly, confederate monuments don’t belong in our country. Anywhere. These statues honor a rebel army that fought to preserve white supremacy and slavery. They also represent LOSERS! SAD!

Anyways, the debate about confederate monuments has now sparked a debate about all statues and monuments in America. A petition in Virginia called for a confederate monument to be replaced with a statue of VA legend Missy Elliot.

Similarly, activists in Minnesota have started a petition to have a statue of Christopher Columbus removed and replaced by someone who truly represents the real Minnesota… Prince.

The petition states that Christopher Columbus is a man that sought to “extinguish Black and Native peoples,” and naturally any monument to Columbus does not belong in a public place.

From the petition:

“Across the nation, city governments are choosing to remove statues of white supremacists, slave owners, and those who threatened the livelihood of Black people. Here in Minnesota, communities are reigniting the demand to bring down state’s monument to Christopher Columbus, a man who murdered, raped and enslaved Black and Native peoples in the Americas. We, the undersigned, do not believe that Columbus represents the values Minnesotans carry. Rather than glorify a man who wanted to extinguish Black and Native peoples, we should honor members of our community whose leadership we find inspirational.”

Minnesota has a sizable Native community and Christopher Columbus represents the atrocities inflicted upon those populations throughout the history of our country.

These kinds of debates aren’t going anywhere. We need to honor people who actually made this country better, like Prince, not mediocre old white dudes.