'Genocide': Worcester Christopher Columbus Defaced

WORCESTER, MA — A statue of Christopher Columbus outside Union Station was vandalized overnight by someone who wrote "genocide" in red paint on the figure.

City crews power-washed the paint off the statue Tuesday morning, according to Spectrum News. Statues of Columbus, who historians say committed genocide after landing in the Caribbean in 1492, have been targeted across the nation — one in Boston's North End was removed by the city after it was beheaded.

Columbus is a large figure in Worcester beside the Union Station statue. Cristoforo Colombo Park along Shrewsbury Street is usually home to the region's July 4 festivities (postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus). There's also a Columbus Park neighborhood, home of the Columbus Park Preparatory Academy elementary school.

In December, the Worcester City Council voted to reaffirm the city's commitment to celebrating Columbus Day after a request from the Sons of Italy. That vote came several weeks after a citizen submitted a petition asking the City Council to observe Indigenous People's Day — many cities in the United States, including Somerville, Amherst and Cambridge, have adopted that holiday as an alternative to celebrating Columbus.

Some other cities are taking action to remove Columbus statues. A statue in New Haven — home to the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus — will be removed from the city's Wooster Square neighborhood.