President Donald Trump is sending a message about American history and Italian American heritage with the return of a reconstructed Christopher Columbus statue to a prominent location just steps from the White House. The move comes more than six years after protesters tore down the original monument in Baltimore and dumped it into the city’s Inner Harbor on Independence Day.
The White House celebration has turned the restored statue into more than a monument to a historical figure. For many Italian Americans, it represents a fight to preserve their cultural identity, honor their ancestors, and resist efforts to erase controversial chapters of American history by tearing down the symbols associated with them.
It also gives Republicans another opportunity to draw a sharp contrast with Democrats over how the nation remembers its past.
