After years of discussion and activist work, the controversial Christopher Columbus statue was removed on June 16, 2020 from St. Louis’s Tower Grove Park. Using this moment as a touchstone, this panel discussed the false-hero narrative of Columbus, methods for confronting racist monuments, the power of BIPOC artists, and the act of healing and reclaiming space. The event featured Marvin-Alonzo Greer, Education and Visitor Experience Lead for Soldiers Memorial Military Museum; and Alyssa Lazzeroni, MSW, LMSW, CLC, in conversation with Lindsey Manshack, Research Manager at the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis & PhD Candidate of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota.
