An online program created to better understand a sensitive, complicated issue will be available to everyone with access to a computer and the Zoom application this week. "Columbus: From Quarry to the Park," a collaboration between the Babcock-Smith House Museum and Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, will be presented virtually on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as part of "Community Voices: History in Balance," a series that grew out of discourse surrounding Westerly's controversial Christopher Columbus statue, according to Brigitte Hopkins, executive director of Westerly Library and Wilcox Park.

The statue, carved from blue Westerly granite by the Joseph Coduri Granite Co., has stood for decades in Wilcox Park on the esplanade across from Town Hall. For many, the statue is a tribute to Westerly's Italian heritage. For others, it's a symbol of genocide and a reminder of the enslavement of indigenous people.