Stains of red paint can still be seen on the pavement where the Christopher Columbus statue once stood at Discovery Park in Chula Vista.
The paint serves as a reminder of the vandalism and protests that led to the statue's removal last June.
The Chula Vista City Council voted 4-1 to get rid of the statute, and declared October 12 "Indigenous People's Day" in Chula Vista.
Elena Izcalli, who grew up playing softball at Discovery Park, was one of dozens of people who spoke at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“I would pass the Columbus statue multiple times a week. Literally looking up to a man who had committed genocide to people just like me,” Izcalli said.
The city’s Human Relations Commission played a big role in advocating for the removal of the statue, saying it did not represent the people or the values of Chula Vista.
Commission member Ricardo Medina says the statue should be replaced with a marker.
“Marking the dates that the community came together in the name of justice, truth, and reconciliation to recreate and conceptualize the park,” Medina said.
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The Commission will be in charge of developing a taskforce to help rename and transform the park into something that unifies the community.
Councilman John McCann was the only person to vote no, adding he wasn't in favor of changing the name of the park.
Medina finds the name problematic.
“It perpetuates this concept of discovery that no one was here, that no one was occupying these lands when Columbus got here,” said Medina.
