The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Wayne Munroe said he would be surprised if Columbus Primary School still bears Christopher Columbus’ name in a year or two, reviving a long-running push to replace colonial-era symbols with honours that better reflect Bahamian history.

Mr Munroe told The Tribune he supports changing the school’s name.

His comments follows a years-long debate over whether public institutions should continue honouring Christopher Columbus, the explorer whose statue was smashed outside Government House in 2021 and removed the following year.

He raised the prospect in the Senate after Senator Rick Fox asked about the Christopher Columbus statue that once stood outside Government House.

“I think The Bahamas should stay tuned to see if there is a Columbus Primary, if Columbus Primary survives this administration,” Mr Munroe said. “So the Columbus statute I’m told, is at the Ministry of Works. It would be a matter to see if Columbus Primary survives this administration.”

The Tribune understands former Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin had initiated a push to rename the school.

The issue resurfaced as senators discussed the fate of the Columbus statue, which was damaged in 2021 and removed in 2022.

Shervandaze “Michael the Archangel” Smith was convicted in 2023 for smashing the statue outside Government House with a sledgehammer.

Mr Smith pleaded guilty to causing damage and trespassing and was sentenced in October 2023. He was ordered to pay $7,050 to avoid prison.

During his arraignment, Mr Smith said he was in his right mind when he damaged the statue and said he did so because of a divine purpose after God touched him. Before sentencing, he was sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

His actions echoed protests elsewhere in the world, including the toppling of statues during the Black Lives Matter movement and the acquittal of the Colston Four in the United Kingdom, the four defendants accused of toppling the statue of Edward Colston, a former slave-trader and British parliamentarian.

Senator Latrae Rahming said the Ministry of Works removed the Columbus statue and that there is an intent to repurpose and refurbish it. He said no decision has been made on whether the statue will return.

Mr Fox suggested that a statue of a Bahamian should replace the Columbus statue, naming Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt as one possible candidate.

Reverend Canon S Campbell, chairman of the National Heroes Committee, backed the push to rename Columbus Primary School, saying there are more fitting Bahamian figures for children to emulate.

“I heard that name of that school was supposed to be changed a very long time ago, years ago, in fact, under the Perry Christie government,” Rev Campbell said.

He said he served at the time on the National Cultural Development Commission, which recommended several measures to strengthen Bahamian national identity, including renaming the airport, placing Bahamian images on currency and changing the name of Columbus Primary School.

“We wondered why it has taken this long, because really and truly, that should have been done a long time ago, maybe at a time when the government rallied around us and changed the holiday from Columbus Day to National Heroes Day,” he said.

Rev Campbell supported recognition for the Governor General, but said a statue of the Governor General should not be placed at Government House.

He said she should instead be honoured in the committee’s proposed National Heroes Park at Clifton, where other notable Bahamians could also be recognised.

He also expressed frustration with that project's pace, saying the government has already set aside land for the park.

Rev Campbell said a more appropriate monument for Government House would honour the Lucayans, the indigenous people who inhabited The Bahamas before Christopher Columbus arrived.

He said the Lucayans, “the original Bahamians,” should be recognised because they were the first people of these islands before being wiped out following European contact.