NEWTON FALLS, Ohio — As America turns inward and reflects upon its history and how it relates to social justice, many statues of past historical leaders are now being taken down by city leaders. Or in some cases, they've been forced down or vandalized by protesters.
One Northeast Ohio city has offered itself up as a home where those statues can live on.
On Saturday, Newton Falls City Manager David Lynch signed a proclamation declaring his city as a 'Statuary Sanctuary City' for historical statues. In addition, Lynch declared a 'general amnesty' for statues of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Patrick Henry, Francis Scott Key, Theodore Roosevelt, and Christopher Columbus.
Lynch says the city is volunteering to take those statues that have been removed in cities across the country and place them "in a location of honor in the community."
In the proclamation, Lynch writes, "Whereas the great leaders of our country and Western civilization, though flawed in many ways, have risen to great achievements such as the founding of our nation, the ending of slavery, establishment and protection of our national parks, the establishment of antitrust laws to protect our citizens from overaggressive monopolization of industry, and the discovery of the New World itself; and Whereas these great leaders as represented by beautiful and artistic statuary throughout or nation deserve to stand in a place of honor and respect as a reminder that we as Americans can achieve great things.”
Lynch's proclamation came on the same day that a statue of Christopher Columbus was taken down in the city of Baltimore. It was thrown into the city's Inner Harbor.
Protesters mobilized by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police have called for the removal of statues of Columbus, among others. They say the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas.
Statues of Columbus have also been toppled or vandalized in cities such as Miami; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Boston, where one was decapitated. The city of Columbus as well as Columbus State University have removed its statues of Columbus.
On Friday, Lynch had a discussion about the statue issue with Tom Zawistowski, the Portage County Tea Party Executive Director, on Newton Falls' Facebook page.
“We don’t have a racism problem in the U.S. We have a Communism problem in the United States,” Zawistowski told Lynch. “These people are Communists. Their groups are funded by China and Russia and their goal is to overthrow our government.”
You can watch their conversation in the player below.