Traditionally, the town is dominated by four groups – Italian, Irish, Black and Puerto Rican. Each group has a monument in Lions Park to the history, struggle and triumphs of their people. The mixes of race and ethnicities has long been a point of pride among Bristolians. It was only a matter of time before the monument to Christopher Columbus in Bristol Lions Park was targeted for banishment by the woke set.

On social media over the last month, arguments raged between those who want to keep the monument, and those who want it gone. “It’s been bitter,” said Bill Pezza, who led the revival of the Mill Street shopping district with the group Raising the Bar. Across the country, Columbus statues have been similarly targeted, defaced, vandalized and toppled by young protesters, many college educated, who label the Italian explorer an enslaver.