PHILADELPHIA - Crews worked to cover the Christopher Columbus statue with a protective box after Mayor Jim Kenney announced plans to initiate a public process that will consider the future of the statue.
In a letter on Monday, the mayor asked the public art director to initiate the appropriate process through the Philadelphia Art Commission.
No decision has been made on whether the city will remove the statue. Mayor Kenney released a statement, which reads in part, “I believe that a public process will allow for all viewpoints—especially those of indigenous people whose ancestors suffered under the rule of European colonizers—to be considered.