Trinidad and Tobago reckons with colonialism in a debate on statues, signs and monuments of its past

Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is debating whether it should remove statues, signs and monuments with colonial ties and how those spaces should be used instead. The nation is the latest to embrace a movement to abolish colonial-era symbols as it reckons with its past and questions if and how it should memorialize it as demands for slavery reparations grow across the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus and other colonial-era figures were scrutinized in a lengthy debate punctuated by snickers, applause and outbursts. Some suggested a prominent Columbus statue be placed in a museum. Others wanted it destroyed. The majority of the people who spoke at Wednesday’s session supported removal of colonial-era symbols and names.