Dear Waltham friends and family,

Hope this finds you well, we are reaching out to fellow citizens for a call to action before this October 12, 2020. This is regarding the monument to Christopher Columbus on the Waltham Common that is continually vandalized. It needs to be removed, like yesterday.

While we understand that Italian American residents of Waltham put up this monument almost 30 years ago, Columbus isn't fit to represent Americans, or really Italians either. He never would have identified himself as "Italian," as there was no unified country of Italy during his lifetime. He was a representative of Spain who became a tyrant, enslaving Indigenous peoples and mistreating other Europeans. He never came to the United States, Waltham, or the Common.

The name on the monument was originally misspelled and had to be re-engraved (the mistake is still visible). Every time it is vandalized, it requires resources from the police and city workers to clean it. Recently, it was tagged with "BLM." We remember how Mayor McCarthy assured youth organizers at the march back in June that Black lives do matter here in Waltham. Maybe removing this offensive monument would be an actionable way to demonstrate the truth of that statement. 

Even the Columbus sculpture in Boston's North End is coming down. We have sent letters to three of the people/families involved with the original installation of the monument on the Common -- James Simeone, Salvatore Pinzone, and Angelo Urso -- respectfully asking them to now consider its removal. We have suggested that perhaps Italian Americans can be properly recognized & honored for their long standing contributions to our country with different memorials, ones that do not praise a violent person like Christopher Columbus.

Many citizens of Waltham are tired of seeing this monument, tired of being hurt by it, tired of the ways that it misrepresents our history. We are dedicated to working with you to make Waltham the best possible community. Let’s improve our city by removing this eyesore on the Common by October 12, 2020.

Thank you,

Your neighbors in Ward 1