Christopher Columbus Statue in Texas Covered With Red Paint

Folks waking up in Houston this morning were greeted with a new message on a local statue.

Bell Park in Houston is home to a statue of Christopher Columbus. At some point overnight, it was vandalized with red paint on the hands and face of the statue. A cardboard sign was also left around the waist of the statue that says, “RIP THE HEAD FROM YOUR OPPRESSOR.” This is just one of many instances of Christopher Columbus statues being vandalized throughout the country.

Over in Richmond, Virginia, threw a statue of Columbus into a lake and in Boston a statue was beheaded. No word on what the city of Houston is planning to do with the statue in the future. The city says this is not the first time something like this has happened, it was apparently vandalized multiple times in 2018. Back in 2017 in Houston a man tried to bomb a confederate statue. He is currently serving six and a half years in prison.

The Christopher Columbus statue in Houston has been sitting in Bell Park since 1992. It was commissioned and donated by the Italian-American Organizations of Greater Houston.