The world found itself trapped in chaos after the killing of an ardent sports fan, a loving brother, and a caring father, George Floyd. On May 25, Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis Officer [1]. Chauvin killed Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, not giving much heed to Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe” [2]. The video of the killing went viral and protests erupted in many nations across the world. The protestors raised slogans like “black lives matter” and Floyd’s last words “I can’t breathe”. Soon, these protests took an anticolonialism approach and started targeting statues and monuments of historical figures involved in the slave trade, black genocide, etc.

Many world leaders spoke against the newly generated black movement. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the Great Britain tweeted “We cannot now try to edit or censor our past…We cannot pretend to have a different history.” [3]. Donald Trump tweeted on 11 June 2020 at 7:09 PM, “THOSE THAT DENY THEIR HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT!”. The capital letters show how strongly he felt against the demolition of the statues. However, those opposing the movement received a huge backlash from the public. Kahinde Andrews, who is a professor of black studies at Birmingham City University, told the Times that “These monuments are put up to revere these figures, and if we say we want a non-racist society, of course we have to get rid of them,…. Statues are not about history; statues are about a certain version of history.” [4]

Statues and monuments were attacked based upon the acts of the targeted historical figures against the black community in the past. The list of all the statues and monuments attacked or removed during the past week are given below:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth’s Confederate monument was somewhat pulled to pieces by the protestors on

Wednesday night, June 10, 2020 [5]. All three statues were beheaded and BLM, which stands for Black Lives Matter, was imprinted on the monuments with spray paints [6]. One protestor was seriously injured when a part of a statue fell on his head. The reason behind the attack was that the monument was built right next to a historical place where the slaves were traded and punished [7].

Norfolk, Virginia

After the attack on the Portsmouth monument, it was decided to remove Norfolk confederate monument in order to ensure public peace and safety. On June 11, Kenneth Cooper Alexander, the mayor of Norfolk, proclaimed the removal of the statue and said that its "continued presence could lead to injury or violence and therefore must be immediately removed" [5]. On June 12, the statue of Johnny Reb was finally removed [8].

Richmond, Virginia

On June 10, in Richmond, the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was toppled down and splattered with paint by the protestors. The mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, supported this act by the protestors and tweeted “Jefferson Davis was a racist & traitor who fled our city as his troops carried out orders to burn it to the ground” moreover, he said that “He never deserved to be up on that pedestal. July 1, we will begin the process the state requires to remove these monuments to the Old Richmond of a Lost Cause”. Stoney said in his tweet, "Richmond, we will finish the job of removing these antiquated symbols of racism and hate." [5]

A Richmond policeman can be seen standing next to the demolished statue of President Jefferson Davis [11].

On June 6, 2020, another statue was toppled by the protestors in Richmond. It was the statue of

Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham. it was later removed from Monroe Park. [21]

Louisville, Kentucky

Mayor Greg Fisher of Louisville announced the removal of The John Breckenridge Castleman monument. Fisher had been planning to remove the monument for many years. In 2016, he said that “We all agree with the report's finding that our city must not maintain statues that serve as validating symbols for racist or bigoted ideology -- that's why we relocated the Confederate statue near the University of Louisville" [5]. On June 8, 2020, the statue was taken down [9]. the statue will soon be relocated to the Cave Hill Cemetry near Castleman’s grave.

Jacksonville, Florida

A 122-year-old, bronze statue of a confederate soldier was taken down in Hemming Park in downtown Jacksonville [5]. On Tuesday, Curry, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, said “The confederate monument is gone. And the others in this city will be removed as well,”… “We hear your voices. We have heard your voices.” [12]

Birmingham, Alabama

On May 31, at Linn Park, Mayor Randall Woodfin stopped the demonstrators from removing a

115-year-old monument of Charles Linn and told them that he will “finish the job” for them [5]. The statue was damaged and defaced by the protestors on Sunday. The next day, the mayor ordered the removal of the statue and it was finally removed on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. [13]

In this picture, you can see Charles Linn’s statue in a damaged state. [13]

Montgomery, Alabama

On June 1, In front of Lee High School in Montgomery, Protestors attacked and tore down the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gen. Robert was the commander of the Confederate State Army.

The removal of the statue was authorized by Mayor Sandy Stimpson [14].

Nashville, Tennessee

Edward Carmack was a newspaper owner and a former US senator. He was known for attacking many civil rights advocates [5]. His statue was toppled by angry protestors on May 30^th, 2020 [15].

Alexandria, Virginia

On Mayor Justin Wilson’s orders, crews removed the statue of a confederate soldier, whose name was ‘Appomattox’. It was done on Tuesday morning, June 2, 2020. Mayor tweeted “Alexandria, like all great cities, is constantly changing and evolving” and also uploaded a few pictures of its removal. [16]

Mobile, Alabama

The statue of Confederate Adm. Raphael Semmes was removed from downtown and transferred to another safe location on June 5, 2020 [17]. Mayor Simpson said in a tweet that "It is about removing a potential distraction so we may focus clearly on the future of our city," Stimpson wrote.

"That conversation, and the mission to create one Mobile, continues today." [5]

Boston, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Pennsylvania and

Richmond

Christopher Columbus is yet another controversial historical figure who is known for cruelty against the indigenous people. His statues were targeted in three different states. In Minnesota, a group of people tugged the statue to the ground by tossing a rope around it.

In Richmond, at Byrd Park, protestors attacked and vandalized the Columbus statue and later on threw it in the lake.

Similarly, in Boston, protestors beheaded the statue on Tuesday and later it was removed by the officials. [19]

Columbus statue was also attacked and vandalized in Wilkes-barre in Pennsylvania on June 12, 2020.

The statue of Columbus was removed from Camden, New Jersey on June 11, following the orders of Mayor Frank Moran. Another statue was ordered to be removed on June 12 from

Wilmington, Delaware by Mayor Mike Purziski.

Dover, Delaware

Delaware law enforcement memorial was attacked and vandalized by the BLM protestors on June 12, 2020. It was later removed by the city for restoration. The authorities found two urine-soaked flags and an ax near the statue.

Charlotte, North Carolina

The state of Jerry Richardson, who was alleged to be sexist and racist, was removed by the authorities to keep it safe from the protestors, on June 10. [22]

New Orleans, Lousiana

The bust of John McDonough was targeted and removed by the BLM protestors on June 13, 2020. The BLM protestors used a rope, chisel, and a skateboard to pull the bust down, and then they rolled it into the Mississippi River. [23]

UNITED KINGDOM

Bristol

The BLM protestors, on Sunday, 31^st May 2020, pulled down and destroyed the statue of Edward Colson who was a slave trader in the 17^th century. They rolled the statue through the streets and then it was hauled from the harbor into the River Avon. [18]

London

A number of statues were targeted in London. The statue “Robert Milligan” was taken down by the protestors. He was a slave trader who owned 526 slaves at his sugar plantation. [20]

The statue of Winston Churchill was also targeted in central London by BLM protestors. The vandalization of the statue was done on D-Day this year [20].

Trafford, Greater Manchester

Dunham Massey removed the statue of a black male crying a sundial on June 11, 2020, after admitting that the statue is degrading to the black community and can act as a source of “upset and distress”. [24]

BELGIUM

On June 9, 2020, the statue of King Leopold II of the Belgians was vandalized by the protestors and after that, it was set on fire. He was the founder of the Congo Free State. According to the protestors, his regime in Congo Free State was brutal. He killed nearly 10 million Africans.[25]

NEW ZEALAND

On June 12, the statue of John Fane Charles Hamilton was removed by the authorities after the request for its removal was received from the Maori tribal confederation, Waikato Tainui. Hamilton is accused of killing Maori people in the 1860s. [26]

SCOTLAND

Barclays Glasgow Campus

Barclay’s bank accepted a petition and removed the name of Andrew Buchanan, a slave owner, from its new property development on June 9, 2020. [27]

Sources:

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/george-floyd-man-sparked-movement-

200609175159156.html

2. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/fiery-protest-erupts-city-atlanta-live-updates-

200614040635038.html

3. https://www.foxnews.com/world/boris-johnson-statues-lying-about-history

4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/06/12/protests-statues-world-churchill

5. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/09/us/confederate-statues-removed-george-floydtrnd/index.html

6. https://www.pilotonline.com/news/vp-nw-portsmouth-confederate-monument-20200610-

65p7wr3nkvcrneaotwycjygcqu-story.html

7. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/history/historian-explains-connectionbetween-the-portsmouth-confederate-monument-its-location-and-slavery/291-a9c556b6e20a-4c6e-a177-fd6ad23ac0e7

8. https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Statue-of-Confederate-soldier-removed-fromdowntown-Norfolk-571223311.html

9. https://wfpl.org/controversial-castleman-statue-removed-by-city-crews-early-mondaymorning/

10. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/09/jacksonville-florida-takesdown-confederate-monument-122-years/5330515002/

11. https://www.businessinsider.com/confederate-white-nationalist-monuments-removedcities-2018-2

12. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/09/jacksonville-florida-takesdown-confederate-monument-122-years/5330515002/

13. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/us/george-floyd-birmingham-confederatestatue.html

14. https://www.al.com/news/2020/06/watershed-moment-will-removal-of-confederatemonuments-lead-to-lasting-change-in-alabama.html

15. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/may/30/nashville-protesterstopple-statue-racist-politician-gov-lee-deploys-national-guard/524221/

16. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/confederate-statue-alexandria-trnd/index.html

17. https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2020/06/mobiles-statue-who-was-confederate-admraphael-semmes.html

18. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8409375/Edward-Colson-statue-hauled-Bristol-

Harbour.html

19. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/10/us/christopher-columbus-statues-downtrnd/index.html

20. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11826866/topple-the-racists-map-statues-full-list/

21. https://www.richmond.com/news/local/watch-now-confederate-statue-removed-frommonroe-park-after-protesters-tore-it-down-saturday-night/article_d440d8b2-48a2-54d1-

823c-773b51bf233d.html

22. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/panthers/2020/06/10/jerry-richardson-statueremoved-carolina-panthers-david-tepper/5335688002/

23. https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_f3132588-adc5-11ea-9d07-

33279ea39f38.html

24. http://altrincham.today/2020/06/11/news/dunham-massey-removes-sundial-statuenational-trust-admits-causes-upset-distress/

25. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53017188

26. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8413253/New-Zealand-city-removes-statue-

British-naval-officer-John-Hamilton.html

27. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barclays-bank-slave-owner-nameandrew-buchanan-glasgow-black-lives-matter-a9557921.html

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A Confrontation of the Colonial Past; The Demolition of Statues and Monuments