Christopher Columbus statues should not return to their old spots in Grant Park or Little Italy and the city will pay out $50,000 grants to support a new series of public memorials across the city, including a monument for victims of Chicago gun violence, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s commission on monuments recommended.
The long-delayed report, commissioned by Lightfoot in 2020 after a bloody clash between protesters and police at Grant Park prompted her to remove Columbus statues from the public way, also recommends taking down several other monuments that negatively depict Native Americans, honor the Supreme Court chief justice who presided over Plessy v. Ferguson, which enshrined segregation, or, in one case, “openly prioritizes whiteness.”
Advertisement
Amid unrest following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the conflict over the Columbus statue in Grant Park, Lightfoot formed a committee to conduct a broad review of monuments as part of what she called “a racial healing and historical reckoning project.” Whether she will follow the committee’s recommendations, however, remains to be seen, as Lightfoot has promised to return the Columbus statues she ordered taken down and has been critical of what she has said are efforts to rewrite history.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Advertisement
The city will award $50,000 grants to artists for development of ideas, including monuments honoring Pilsen Latinos, Mahalia Jackson, the Mother Jones Heritage Project, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable and Kitihawa, his wife and a local Potawatomi woman. In addition, the city will support monuments for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial, the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, a “visibility project” focused on Black women and girls, and a “community-led monument to victims of gun violence in Chicago.”
Other monuments — including ones in tribute to President Abraham Lincoln — fell under the “Revise or Add Narrative” batch.
The report indicates that more time and engagement with community members is needed before deciding how to deal with those structures. But the advisory committee did signal the city will revise the accompanying texts now, despite the monuments themselves not being prioritized for immediate action.
The city’s collection of Lincoln monuments that are up for further review include the “Standing Lincoln,” “Seated Lincoln,” “Lincoln Rail Splitter” and “Young Lincoln” statues. The Civil War-era president hailing from Illinois has been scrutinized by some for his treatment of Native Americans, which includes authorizing a mass execution of Dakota Sioux members.
Other monuments that the city wants to reexamine are in tribute to General John Logan, Benjamin Franklin, Leif Ericson and Robert Cavelier De La Salle and former presidents Ulysses S. Grant and George Washington. Some works depicting Native Americans, including “The Alarm,” “A Signal of Peace” and “Bull and Indian Maiden,” also fall in that list.
Lastly, markers of historic events such as the “Illinois Centennial Monument,” “The Republic,” “Haymarket Riot Monument,” “Indian Boundary Lines Plaque,” “Marquette Campsite Plaque” and “Chicago River Plaque” will also get another look.
“We believe the report’s ideas and recommendations will strengthen our City as our public art collection becomes more honest about our history and far more inclusive regarding who is represented and what stories are told,” advisory committee co-chairs Mark Kelly and Bonnie McDonald said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
