PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI/CNN) - Vandals in Rhode Island splattered red paint all over a Christopher Columbus statue in Providence on the holiday dedicated to his 1492 landing in America.
They defaced the statue Monday amid an effort to abolish Columbus Day around the country.
Protestors want to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day, that would recognize the victims of colonialism.
Michael Purcell lives near the statue. He rides by often and said he’s seen other political messages in smaller graffiti but the paint and profanity on the front of the statue stuck out.
“I just had to stop because I was a little bit in shock,” said Purcell. “This is really bold.”
He wasn’t alone. Throughout the afternoon people stopped by, taking pictures of the vandalized statue.
In recent years some have become more outspoken against Columbus due to how Native Americans were treated when he arrived in the Americas.
Darrell Waldron, Executive Director of the Rhode Island and Regional Indian Council, stopped by the statue as well.
“America was built on the graves of Native Americans, they always portrayed us as the villains, never the heroes,” Waldron said.
He along with most others passing by agreed that defacing property is wrong but understood the possible point behind the paint.
“I get their point, I just don’t think that’s really the way to do it,” said Purcell.
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