Statues, monuments vandalized amid Black Lives Matter protests
Statues originally under fire were Confederate soldiers and generals largely in the South due to the treatment of African-Americans, but the anger has spread to monuments of all backgrounds many of which have been torn down by protesters, and others have been officially removed.
Historic monuments and statues have become the targets of anger and vandalism during Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd's police custody death at the end of May.
The initial statues under fire were Confederate soldiers and generals largely in the South due to the treatment of African-Americans, but the anger has spread to monuments of all backgrounds -- including former U.S. presidents -- many of which have been torn down, and some have been officially removed.
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The targets of rage have gone beyond the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the statue of Gen. Casimir Pulaski on the National Mall in Washington around Juneteenth on Friday, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States.
Confederate general in D.C.
People film the only statue of a Confederate general, Albert Pike, in the nation's capital after it was toppled by protesters and set on fire in Washington early Saturday, June 20, 2020. It comes on Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States, amid continuing anti-racism demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Protesters toppled the only statue of a Confederate general -- Albert Pike -- in the nation's capital and set it on fire on Friday.
President Trump has called for people involved in tearing down the statue to be arrested.
George Washington
A group of protesters in Portland, Oregon vandalized and tore down a statue of America's first president, George Washington.
The group draped an American flag, lit on fire, and then toppled the Washington statue on Thursday, June 18.
The demonstrators argue Washington owned slaves and therefore should not have statues of him.
Theodore Roosevelt
New York, USA - June 2, 2018: People next to Theodore Roosevelt statue by The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, one of the largest museums in the world.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the prominent statue of Theodore Roosevelt in front of the American Museum of Natural History, will be removed after years of objections that it symbolizes colonial expansion and racial discrimination.
“The American Museum of Natural History has asked to remove the Theodore Roosevelt statue because it explicitly depicts Black and Indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior,” de Blasio announced Sunday in a written statement about the statue erected in 1940 that depicts Roosevelt on horseback with a Native American man and an African man standing next to the horse. “It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue.”
Trump tweeted Monday: "Ridiculous, don't do it."
Ellen Futter, the museum's president, told the New York Times, “We have watched as the attention of the world and the country has increasingly turned to statues as powerful and hurtful symbols of systemic racism. Simply put, the time has come to move it.”
Futter said the museum objected to the statue but not to Roosevelt, a pioneering conservationist whose father was a founding member of the institution and who served as New York's governor before becoming the 26th U.S. president. She said the museum was naming its Hall of Biodiversity for Roosevelt “in recognition of his conservation legacy.”
Ulysses S. Grant
Protesters in San Francisco defaced and toppled the statue of former President Grant, who led the Union Army during the Civil War, in Golden State Park, on Friday, June 19.
Many online pointed out the irony, though critics say he has a complicated relationship with slavery.
"He was a 'slave owner' in that he was gifted a slave, hated the idea, and freed him within a year. Then won the Civil War, prosecuted the KKK, and appointed African Americans to prominent roles in government," Matt Whitlock wrote on Twitter. "This might have gotten out of hand."
Around 400 people gathered that night and also tore down statues of St. Junipero Serra and Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Christopher Columbus
(The Christopher Columbus statue in front of Columbus' City Hall was donated by the city of Genoa, Italy, in 1955. (Google))
The mayor of Columbus, Ohio announced Thursday, June 18, the state capitol plans to remove the city's namesake Christopher Columbus statue that stands in front of City Hall in favor of "diversity and inclusion."
The statue, which had "rapist" spray-painted the day before by protesters, will be replaced with a piece of new art that better represents the city and its people, FOX 28 in Columbus reported.
The Columbus City Council expressed its "sincere respect and thanks" to the city of Genoa, Italy that gifted the statue in 1955, but the Columbus Piave Club found the sentiments of diversity and inclusion "ironic" because the Italian community was "COMPLETELY locked out" of the conversation surrounding the statue's removal.
Other Columbus statues have been vandalized and removed across the nation.
Matthias Baldwin
In the first days of Floyd protests, the statue of Philadelphia abolitionist Matthias Baldwin was defaced with messages of "colonizer" and "murderer," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Baldwin, an industrialist, was an outspoken critic against slavery during the early 1800s, arguing for the right of African-Americans to vote and founding a school in the city for black children, and before the Civil War, Southern railroads refused to purchase his engines.
The Baldwin statue was erected in 1906 and placed outside City Hall in 1936.
Memorials honoring African-Americans
In Boston, the Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial, which honors African-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War, was one of 16 public artworks damaged when thousands of protesters swarmed Boston Common May 31, according to public radio station WBUR-FM.
“This monument is considered one of the nation's greatest pieces of public art and the greatest piece to come out of the Civil War,” Friends of the Public Garden executive director Liz Vizza told the station. “It was, amazingly enough, dedicated 123 years ago on May 31st – the day it was defaced.”
In Duluth, Minn., one of the city's most treasured memorials, the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, was vandalized with anti-police graffiti during protests that weekend. The memorial commemorates three black men wrongly lynched years ago after being accused of raping a woman, Fox 21 Duluth reported.
“I was hurt. I was hurt that we have to see that,” Stephan Witherspoon, co-chair of the Memorial board and president of the local NAACP, told the station.
Armenian genocide memorial
In Denver, Colorado, a sculpture remembering the victims of the Armenian genocide was vandalized with anti-cop graffiti.
“Since the Khachkar commemorates the victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery and state-sponsored racism, it is ironic that individuals who claim to seek justice have vandalized the very monument that honors the victims of injustice,” Armenians of Colorado said in a statement.
First responders sculpture
In Salt Lake City, protesters damaged the Serve and Protect bronze sculpture in front of the city’s Public Safety Building with red paint.
The sculpture is meant to symbolize the duty emergency responders have to protect and serve their communities, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Soldiers & Sailors monument
In Cleveland, the Soldiers & Sailors monument in the city’s downtown was vandalized with graffiti when a protest turned into a riot May 30.
Vandals also stole the monument’s American flag, according to WOIO-TV.
Fallen law enforcement memorial
In Sacramento, the California Peace Officers’ Memorial monument was vandalized Saturday during protests, Fox 40 Sacramento reported.
The memorial is dedicated to members of law enforcement killed in the line of duty.
One statue’s face was spray painted black, while another structure had the words “F— the police” spray-painted on it, the station reported.
World War I memorial
In Birmingham, Ala., a 97-year-old memorial honoring those who lost their lives in World War I was defaced and damaged amid a protest in the public park where it was located after protesters failed to take out their wrath on the park’s Confederate monument, according to WVTM-TV.
Protesters tried to tear it down but were unable to, the station reported. City officials then removed both monuments but plan to return only the World War I monument to the park after undergoing repairs.
Mahatma Gandhi
Outside the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., protesters "desecrated" Mahatma Gandhi's statue. The United States Park Police launched an investigation and the Ken Juster, U.S. Ambassador to India, apologized, news agency ANI reported.
"So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Washington, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies... Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd and the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice and discrimination of any type. We will recover and be better," Juster said.
Gandhi was the leader of India's non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. Martin Luther King, Jr. drew inspiration from Gandhi connecting Christianity to his non-violent movement.
Polish war hero statue
After a statue in Washington, D.C., commemorating Polish Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko was vandalized, Polish Ambassador Piotr Wilczek went on Twitter to say he was “disgusted and appalled” over what happened, ArtNet reported.
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“I implore @WhiteHouse & @NatlParkService to quickly restore the statue to its original state,” he tweeted.
Fox News' Robert Gearty, Brie Stimson, Frank Miles, and Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report.
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