Rather than take sides for or against Christopher Columbus’ statue in downtown Syracuse, the Onondaga Historical Association is holding a design competition to erect a monument next to it honoring other ethnic groups including Native Americans and indigenous people. OHA executive director Lisa Romano Moore says it will sit adjacent to the Columbus Circle rather than replace the Italian explorer.
“To lead with, ‘Oh the monument has to be up or down,’ isn’t really HOA’s call,” said OHA executive director Lisa Moore. “And all of those elements could be utilized to tell the story of the history of Syracuse and the people who’ve been here forever and the people who are newcomers.”
Moore says consensus about the monument’s future wasn’t achieved in 2018 and 2019 and a period of neutrality has passed. Now they’re trying to find artists with ideas to tell the stories of many other groups in both a historical context and a cohesive and artistic way…