SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Several community organizations gathered at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square to honor those impacted by and lost to colonization and racial violence.
While millions of Americans come together to celebrate Thanksgiving every year, organizers say that too often people do not take the time to honor and remember those lives who have been impacted by and lost to European colonization.
On Wednesday, at the Christopher Columbus statue in the square, numerous organizations participated in the remembrance gathering, including NEPA DSA, Coal & Steam Club CPUSA, Solidarity Television, NEPA for Palestine, NEPA Stands Up, Sunrise Scranton, the Green Party of Pennsylvania, the Universalist Unitarian Congregation of Wyoming Valley, and others.
The inaugural event featured several Indigenous speakers from diverse backgrounds who discussed the lasting negative legacy of colonization on Black and Indigenous communities and live performances from local musicians and poets.
Alec Walker-Serrano, a member of the NEPA Stands Up committee, says Christopher Columbus symbolizes colonization and violence for Indigenous peoples across the Americas and believes the statue doesn’t belong in Scranton’s Courthouse Square.
“Given everything that’s happening right now, both in Gaza and here at home in terms of Indigenous, Latino, and Black folks being racially profiled, we felt it was really a good time for us to come together in the community and share a space where we can both grieve and also offer some hope and some fight, because we really want a future where everyone is free, honored, and respected,” said Walker-Serrano.
Walker-Serrano further adds that the vigil was held at the Columbus statue as a soft launch for a campaign to remove it and relocate it to the Everhart Museum, where it would become part of an exhibit highlighting the true history of colonization and honoring the Lenape people.
Advocates hope the city will install a historical figure that better represents NEPA’s Italian community.
Riley Richards, one of the lead organizers, is a 36 year two spirit, transgender woman and a descendant of the Cherokee and Chickasaw nations.
Richards says that the overall message of the vigil is that it is the responsibility of all Americans to repair the social fabric of our nation, and to fight back against colonization, genocide and Imperialism.
“The Christopher Columbus statue in Scranton must not only come down but be kept at the Everhart museum while replacing it with a dedication to the Lenape people. This is stolen land, it’s time treaties are honored and land returned to indigenous tribes,” said Richards.
November marks Native American Heritage and Indigenous People’s Month, a time dedicated to honoring the histories and contributions of Indigenous communities.
Advocates say it’s also an opportunity for communities to come together, reflect on the impact of colonization, and work toward healing and respect for Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities across the United States and beyond.