Columbus Statue, Newark New Jersey

By: Chris DeSimone

Who is Columbus?

Christopher Columbus was an Italian Sailor who wanted to sail across the Atlantic ocean to find a quicker route to India. The Italian government did not want to sponsor his journey so he went to Spain and the Spanish sponsored his trip. Launching from Palos De La Frontera in Spain, he traveled over the Atlantic Ocean in three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. Columbus thought he landed in India but he really landed in the Caribbean around the Bahamas. This then opened a new time in history with the mass colonization of North and South America where Spain mainly occupied Central and South America and the British and French went into North America. With this discovery this caused the Columbian Exchange where things were traded to and from Europe and the Americas, like agricultural products like corn, livestock and spices.

About the Statue

The Statue was put up in 1927 by John DiBiase in Washington Square in Newark New Jersey. The statue was protested and taken down in 2020. The statue was then donated to St Mary’s Church and is there as of today. Washington Square was renamed Harriet Tubman Square and a statue of her was put up.

Who is John DiBiase?

John DiBiase was born in Italy and married there in 1885. Shortly after his marriage he immigrated to the United States and lived in New Jersey. Italian Americans faced a lot of backlash and hate when they first immigrated to the United States so many of them put up Columbus statues to show that they too helped found America. This was no different with John DiBiase. He did a lot for the Italian American community in Newark. First, He founded the sons of Italy. The Sons of Italy was a group of Italian Americans who helped each other and wanted to maintain their Italian culture in the United States. DiBiase also founded and built Saint Mary’s Church. This was a big thing for Italian Americans as people did not like that Italians were catholic so this gave them a place to worship their beliefs. Finally the last major impact he had was putting up the statue of Columbus in Washington Square, now Harriet Tubman square, in Newark. DiBiase was loved by all Italian Americans as he helped create Italian American communities and retain their culture.

About the Removal of the Statue

Both groups were mad. The Sons of Italy did not want the statue removed as it showed their heritage and paid respect to John DiBiase. To appease them the statue was moved to St Mary’s Church which John DiBiase founded. The protesters were also mad with the way the statue came down. The city came in over night and removed it. The protesters wanted it to be a more public showing of the removal to get the point across. They also wanted it more public so they could spread their message as there are a lot of Columbus Statues in the United States with one of the most famous ones across the Hudson in New York City.

Columbus Statue, Gobetz, CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0

Sources:

1. Barron, James. A Monument to Harriet Tubman Replaces a Columbus Statue in Newark: New York Today. New York Times Company, New York, 2023. ProQuest, http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/monument-harriet-tubman-replaces-columbus-statue/docview/2784698860/se-2.
2. Armitage, D. “Christopher Columbus and the Uses of History.” History Today, vol. 42, no.5,May1992,p.50.EBSCOhost,research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=f6a46a83-6a03-3754-ab3d-a00b1c9461a3.
3. “COLUMBUS HONORED IN DAY OF FESTIVITIES: PARADES, DINNERS AND MEETINGS MARK 435TH ANNIVERSARY OF DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. NEWARK UNVEILS STATUE EXERCISES HELD IN WASHINGTON PARK THERE — CARDINAL HAYES DEDICATES LORETTO SCHOOL. DISTURBANCE IN HOBOKEN TWO ARRESTED AS VEGETABLES ARE THROWN AT MARCHERS — DAY IS OBSERVED BY SPANIARDS.” New York Times (1923-), Oct 13, 1927, pp. 27.ProQuest,http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/columbus-honored-day-festivities/docview/104026664/se-2.
4. “COLUMBUS TRIBUTE TO BE PAID TODAY: FESTIVITIES HERE WILL INCLUDE RALLY OF THOUSANDS AT STATUE AT THE CIRCLE. KNIGHTS TO HOLD A FETE CITY’S OBSERVANCE WILL BE LED BY ITALIAN GROUPS — RADIO TALKS TO BE GIVEN.” New York Times (1923-), Oct 12, 1933, pp. 27. ProQuest, http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/columbus-tribute-be-paid-today/docview/100859930/se-2.
5. “Camden Removes Christopher Columbus Statue from Farnham Park, Angering Some Protesters Ahead of Planned March.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 12 June 2020, www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/camden-removes-christopher-columbus-statue-from-farnham-park/. 
6. Avilucea, Isaac. “Trenton Says Bye-Bye to Columbus Statue, as Protesters Square off about Explorer’s Brutal Past.” Trentonian, Trentonian, 19 Aug. 2021, www.trentonian.com/2020/07/08/trenton-says-bye-bye-to-columbus-statue-as-protesters-square-off-about-explorers-brutal-past/. 
7. Strunsky, Steve. “Columbus Statue Removed from N.J. Park in 2020 to Be Loaned to Church.” Nj, 10 Apr. 2024, www.nj.com/essex/2024/04/columbus-statue-taken-down-from-nj-park-in-2020-to-go-on-loan-to-church.html#:~:text=The%20statue%20was%20taken%20down,and%20exploitation%20of%20indigenous%20people. 
8. Zhang, Myles. “John DiBiase: Newark’s Italian-American Champion.” Guy Sterling, 7 July 2023, guysterling.wordpress.com/2019/09/06/columbus-statue/. 
9. “About.” Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, 18 Jan. 2024, www.osdia.org/about/. 
10. Furnas, Dawn. “Newark Renames Washington Park, Unveils Arts District.” Njbiz, 2022. ProQuest,http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/newark-renames-washington-park-unveils-arts/docview/2680926546/se-2.