Detroit — Chris, a white man, was silently deported from Detroit never to be heard from again.
Until now.
Like many urban dwellers of Italian descent before him, Chris washed up on the shores of the western Detroit suburbs, following a spasm of racial animus and antagonism, five years ago during the Summer of Floyd.
The bust of Christopher Columbus, 115, was dethroned by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan—who, fearing the flames—had it quietly removed from its longtime perch at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street. It was sealed in a wooden crate and squired to a shabby warehouse to the city’s east-side.
Duggan promised a discussion about an appropriate future for the bronze bust. Instead, the pedestal was bulldozed.
Columbus was unearthed by a group of Italian Americans three years ago and currently resides on loan in the basement of a banquet hall and conference center near I-275 and Five Mile Road.
We have had no intellectual reckoning about the appropriateness of our public symbols since then. Only tear gas and nihilism. There has been no discourse about the deeds of Columbus himself. The city council unilaterally changed the name from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, promising a memorial to Native Americans. But that, too, has not been built. Chief Pontiac is the only Native American who occupies a place of prominence in Detroit. His likeness can be found downtown on the pediment of the Book Cadillac Hotel. Pontiac was clubbed to death in 1769.
There is no need to worship these symbols, just as there is no need to destroy them. America is the greatest experiment in human history. It is a nation that has not reached its full greatness but marches toward it with a speed no culture has ever before. To bury the past is to destroy the future. Why not layer new symbols upon the old? Columbus. Pontiac. MLK. After all, a tree without roots is only wood.
It is worth remembering that one of the most consequential periods of indigenous history in North America is the Columbian era of conquest. This ought to be taught in our schools, and yet, our public schools collapse, and our kids can’t even read a history book if they wanted to. Who is taking to the streets to protest this?
And what of the other contradictory symbols that remain throughout the metro region? General Anthony Wayne, General Lewis Cass, and Chief Justice Augustus Woodward were all slave holders. Edward McNamara, the former Wayne County executive whose name is affixed to a terminal at Metro Airport, is said to have been facing corruption indictments when he died. Henry Ford was a virulent antisemite. I could go on.
“I loved to play chess under the Columbus statue,” said Albert “Slim” Richardson, who was panhandling at the corner where Columbus once stood. “I mean, you got to teach history. Not hide it.”
He pointed across Jefferson Avenue, where an imposing figure of George Washington stands. “What are we gonna do?” asked Richardson. “Tear that motherf***er down too?”
Charlie LeDuff is a reporter educated in public schools. Follow him on X @Charlieleduff.
