Chelsea City Council, City Manager Tom Ambrosino, and Chelsea community members:

All across this country people are demonstrating against police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the police killing of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, while in the midst of a global pandemic. Locally, a Christopher Columbus statue in the North End was vandalized and eventually taken down by public works.

History has shown that Christopher Columbus is an individual that shouldn’t be honored nor placed on a pedestal in public spaces. Christopher Columbus committed vast atrocities and crimes against humanity during his lifetime and images of him have no place in a community as rich and diverse as Chelsea. Taking down this statue does not erase history because history is learned from books.

We ask those in power in the community of Chelsea to take down a statue of Christopher Columbus located at 171 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA which is by the Chelsea Police Department.

We ask that members of the Chelsea community and their allies  to sign this petition to finally take this statue down.