statues

It's Up to McCarthy to Remove Statues of Slavers from the Capitol

A third of the artworks in the Capitol depict slaveholders. Whether they're replaced with other works, possibly those celebrating liberators, is largely up to the new House Speaker. 

When White Contractors Wouldn't Remove Confederate Statues, a Black One Did

Devon Henry didn't seek the job of removing a dozen Confederate memorials in Richmond, but local white-owned vendors refused the contracts. He has received death threats and wears a bulletproof vest at job sites. 

Restored Victor Hugo Statue Vandalized by French Rightists Claiming "Wokeism" Run Amok

The statue in the author's birth city of Besançon has become a lightning rod for controversy after a restoration aimed at returning to the vision of Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow was seen as presenting the author as Black.  

Philly's Columbus Statue is Out of the Box—So is the Discussion About His Legacy

Historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries talks about controversial statues: one removed in Richmond, and one uncovered in Philadelphia.

The Troubling History of Arlington Cemetery's Confederate Monument

by Samantha Baskind

The monument misrepresents the history of the Confederacy, and is itself a document of the way that white supremacy enabled a national "reconciliation" after the Civil War. 

Erin Thompson's "Smashing Statues": Tear 'Em All Down

How does taking down a statue relate to the more complicated work of eliminating the racist ideas and structures that put it up? 

Post Editors: Statue or No, Teddy Roosevelt's Complex Legacy is Still with Us

It's appropriate for Theodore Roosevelt's statue to be removed from its position as a figurehead for the Museum of Natural History, but just as appropriate for the statue to be housed in the new Roosevelt Presidential Library where TR's complicated legacy can be more fully addressed, say the Post's editorial board members.

Museum of Natural History in New York Removes Theodore Roosevelt Statue

While Roosevelt's support of natural history has been noted, museum officials acknowledged that the statue "communicates a racial hierarchy" that constitutes a darker side of the former president's legacy.

Bristol Protesters Cleared of Toppling Edward Colston Statue

"In a 10-day trial at Bristol crown court, the four defendants did not contest their actions on 7 June 2020 but sought to argue they were justified, because the statue was so offensive."

Dead Man Running (Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Jim Crow Blues Again)

by Ryan Zickgraf

Mobile's current municipal elections combined the bizarre with the bureaucratic and institutional politics of racism. 

Jefferson Statue to be Removed from NY City Council Chambers

"Annette Gordon-Reed, a Harvard Law School professor and a Jefferson expert, objected to the idea of taking down the Jefferson statue, but said that if it were to move to the New-York Historical Society, where she serves as a trustee, it would be a best-case scenario."

Mary McLeod Bethune Statue is Coming to the Capitol

Florida legislators unanimously approved Bethune to replace Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in the Capitol statuary in 2018. 

How Our Hero Columbus Has Fallen

by Brian Regal

"Humans seem to need to have heroes, but we’re often not sure what to do with them. We want them to embody high ideals, but they rarely do."

White, Male, and, for Now, Still on Pedestals

Paul Farber, director of Monument Lab, said, “We must see monuments as way stations that reflect our values. This is a generational process.”

Tuskegee, Alabama Confederate Memorial at Center of Lawsuit in Majority-Black City

The presence of the statue in the city, home of the historic Tuskegee University and training place of the famed World War II aviation heroes, has angered locals for decades. 

Greenwood, Mississippi Asks What Comes After Confederate Monuments

As political pressure brings down Confederate statues, the question of what replaces them becomes more urgent but remains unanswered. 

History Was Never Subject to Democratic Control

by Helen Lewis

Neither the local economic elite who put up Edward Colston's statue in Bristol, England nor the activists who tore it down operated with a public mandate. What are the prospects for democratic and consensual public history? 

95% of Capitol Sculptures Depict Men. Will That Change Soon?

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a leader of a group of Senators who hope to increase the representation of women in the Capitol statuary. 

Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue at Center of White Nationalist Rally

“I’m really happy it’s a boring morning, and boring means that no bad things happened,” says UVA historian John Edwin Mason.

The Statue of Chief Justice Taney Never Belonged in the Capitol

by Corey M. Brooks

“If a man,” famed Massachusetts radical Charles Sumner asserted, “has done evil during his life he must not be complimented in marble.” Instead Sumner demanded “the name of Taney … be hooted down the page of history.”