CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The Chula Vista’s Human Relations Commission on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution to remove the controversial Columbus statue from Chula Vista's Discovery Park.
The resolution will now head to the Chula Vista City Council for a vote.
Activist groups have pushed for change, asking that the park to honor Indigenous People's Day instead.
This isn’t the first time the Columbus statue has sparked controversy. In fact, it's been vandalized multiple times in the past. One time it occurred right after a weekend protest of the statue.
One woman in Chula Vista shouted from her car as she drove by the statue on Thursday.
“Please don’t defend this statue. You were not taught what you needed to know in the American school system. Christopher Columbus was just the beginning of the attempted assassination of indigenous people," she said.
Activists that oppose the dedications to Columbus, including the holiday, claim monuments like the statue at Discovery Park are a symbol of opposition and celebrate a time when European explorers exploited native people and their resources.
One Chula Vista councilman is pushing back on the call to remove the statue.
“The community members I talk to, the vast majority, support Discovery Park and don’t want outsiders coming in and changing the way things are,” said John McCann, Chula Vista Councilmember for District 1.
