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By Scott T. Sterling
The time has come for Prince to be honored with a statue in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. And according to one fan, it should replace an existing statue of Christopher Columbus.
Related: Prince’s Sister Says Purple Wasn’t His Favorite Color
That fan, community organizer Wintana Melekin, has launched a petition to convince local government officials to do just that, and at press time had generated more than 4,100 of the 5,000 signature goal.
“Across the nation, city governments are choosing to remove statues of white supremacists, slave owners, and those who threatened the livelihood of Black people,” reads the petition, addressed to Governor Drayton and the State Legislature. “Here in Minnesota, communities are reigniting the demand to bring down state’s monument to Christopher Columbus, a man who murdered, raped and enslaved Black and Native peoples in the Americas.”
As for why such a move is important, the petition simply states, “Prince represents Minnesota values and Columbus does not.”
Fans can add their own reasons why they think a Prince statue should replace the one representing Columbus, and they run the gamut.
“Prince is an American icon as well as a good role model and good person,” reads one testimony. “He deserves to be honored instead of a bad role model and terrible person like Christopher Columbus.”
“Did Christopher Columbus drop a 13x platinum album? No,” states another. “No he did not.”
