The recent deaths of African Americans George Floyd in Minneapolis, Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and Breonna Taylor in Louisville at the hands of white police officers set off a wave of protests in cities across the globe aimed at changes in police enforcement strategies and calls for significant reforms.

These protests have also ignited demands for removal of racist symbols from the nation’s divided past that pitted the North against the South largely over the issue of slavery that led to the Civil War. Most prominent among the symbols is the Confederate flag, which has now been banned from NASCAR venues, many of which are in Southern states.

Next have come monuments celebrating Confederate generals and politicians. Even more recently, protesters are calling for the removal of statues of the likes of Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, along with presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Jackson because of their one-time slave ownership. An attempt by protesters to knock down a statue of Jackson, whose cruelty to indigenous people is well-documented, was unsuccessful in Washington, D.C., on Monday night.

Product icons such as Aunt Jemima pancakes, Uncle Ben’s Rice, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup and Cream of Wheat cereal are either being discontinued by their manufacturers or being reviewed for a change in packaging. They are viewed as being symbolic of African American stereotypes.

Seeing this as their moment, protesters also have succeeded in having the curators of the Museum of Natural History announce the removal of a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt riding a horse with an African American and Native American walking alongside of him. This, the protesters say, sends the wrong message of a white man riding while the others are walking.

And now, the newest wrinkle: In Easton, nearly 1,000 petitioners have asked city Mayor Sal Panto to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Riverside Park, because the Italian explorer, who is credited with colonizing the Americas, and his men have been viewed as being responsible for genocide of the indigenous people whom they found upon their arrival.

In recent years, some cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, which has infuriated Italian Americans, because Columbus Day (the second Monday in October) has been symbolic of their pride, accomplishments and contributions to America’s successes.

A former history teacher, Panto has rejected the request based on his belief that the monument has historical relevance. “There’s nothing that’s going to convince me to take it down,” the mayor said. Panto also points out that Columbus and other early explorers did not have the same values as those we subscribe to today.

The petition, which has been posted online, suggests that there is power in symbols such as the Columbus statue. “We must eliminate the symbols that allow us to view the most racist act of violence in our nation’s history in a historic light,” the petition says.

So, my question is: How far do we take this? Let’s just focus on Columbus. There are 22 communities in the United States that are named “Columbus,” including one in Warren County, Pennsylvania, and one in Burlington County, New Jersey. The most prominent of these is Columbus, the capital of Ohio.

The others are in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

There are countless references to streets, buildings, as well as monuments and other symbols that carry the Columbus name, including world-famous Columbus Circle in New York City with Columbus’ statue. Right here in our own area we have New Columbus, a section of Nesquehoning borough, and its Columbus Avenue.

And what about “Columbia”? Columbia is what is called a toponym that originated from the name of the Italian explorer. The Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair) in Chicago in 1892 is an example of a toponym.

So if we are ready to give the heave-ho to all things “Columbus,” we have to consider whether “Columbia” needs to be sanitized, too. If so, we are now talking about Columbia University, the District of Columbia, Columbia the Gem of the Ocean, the capital city of South Carolina, the Columbia River, Columbia Avenue in Palmerton and hundreds, maybe even thousands, of other references.

If we go down this path, we are sure to polarize the nation even more. This strikes me as an example of going from one extreme to the other. This should be a teachable moment done with restraint and logic.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com