To replace Confederate and controversial monuments representing
figures who have harmed people of color throughout American history,
many are requesting celebrity statues to be built in their place. Missy Elliott’s fans already formed a petition to have the hip-hop queen be commemorated with a statue in Portsmouth, VA. Now, Prince might be getting his own.Launched by Minnesota native Wintana Melekin, the petition to replace a Christopher Columbus statue with one of the Minnesota icon already has 4,221 out of its goal of 5,000.
Read the petition's statement below:
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.
We, the undersigned, up submit that the Governor Dayton and the Minnesota State Legislature replace the statue of Columbus with statues representative of Minnesota’s Black and Native communities.
