Amid a national outcry over monuments that represent discrimination and enslavement, the city of Hartford early Monday removed a statue of Christopher Columbus located near the state Capitol.
Mayor Luke Bronin said earlier this month the city would take the monument down. The nearly 100-year-old statue was lifted from its pedestal shortly before 5:45 a.m. No protesters were present.
A few motorists slowed their cars to catch a glimpse, and others parked to watch. Some drivers beeped their horns in approval. The statue has stood in a grassy area between Lafayette and Washington streets since 1926.
“When the statue of Columbus was erected in Hartford a hundred years ago, it was meant to symbolize the fact that Italian Americans, who had faced intense discrimination, had a place in the American story.