If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that Minnesotans (and pretty much all people) love Prince. The late and legendary musician was a native of the state, and he died at Paisley Park, his iconic estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, in April of last year. The legendary late musician has been honored by the state in various ways since his untimely death last year, with the Minnesota legislature designating an annual “Prince Day” and the Minnesota Vikings paying tribute to the singer in various ways over the past year. Recently, one Prince fan has started a new campaign to replace an existing statue of Christopher Columbus in state capital St. Paul with a statue of the Purple One as yet another tribute to the musician’s greatness and his everlasting cultural importance within Minnesota.
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On the campaign site, Wintana Melekin notes, “Across the nation, city governments are choosing to remove statues of white supremacists, slave owners, and those who threatened the livelihood of Black people. 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. We, the undersigned, do not believe that Columbus represents the values Minnesotans carry. Rather than glorify a man who wanted to extinguish Black and Native peoples, we should honor members of our community whose leadership we find inspirational.”
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Thus far, the petition has secured over 4,000 signatures out of its goal of 5,000. You can check out the campaign site here.
[H/T Pitchfork; Photo (Prince): Chad Anderson]