New York City is removing a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt from the Museum of Natural History and sending it to North Dakota.
Can we finally stop pretending that this has anything to do with inclusiveness and admit it’s really about the erasure of American history?
Yaron Steinbuch reports at the New York Post:
Theodore Roosevelt statue at Museum of Natural History to be moved to North DakotaA controversial statue of President Theodore Roosevelt that has stood in front of the American Museum of Natural History for over 80 years will be relocated to North Dakota.The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, which is set to open in 2026, said in a statement that “it has entered into an agreement with the City of New York for the long-term loan and reconsideration of the Equestrian Statue designed by James Earle Fraser.”The announcement comes five months after the New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously to relocate the bronze effigy of the nation’s 26th president amid claims that it symbolizes colonial subjugation and racial discrimination.The monument — which shows Roosevelt on horseback, flanked by an African man and a Native American man — has long been criticized for glorifying colonialism and racism. It was vandalized with paint in 2017.
ABC News calls the statue problematic:
‘Problematic’ Roosevelt statue at American Museum of Natural History finds new homeA “problematic” statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City that has been criticized for symbolizing colonialism and racism has found a new home, more than a year after the city announced it will be removed.The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library said Friday it has agreed to take the statue of the former president, which has stood on the steps of the museum since 1940, for a long-term loan.
I simply don’t believe the claims about the Roosevelt statue being a problem for the reasons given. New York City just removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson as well.
From the New York Post report:
Thomas Jefferson statue removed from City Hall after 187 yearsThomas Jefferson is no longer in the room where it happens.Art handlers packed up an 884-pound statue of Jefferson in a wooden crate Monday after a mayoral commission voted to banish the likeness of the nation’s third president from City Hall, where it’s resided for nearly two centuries — because he owned slaves.About a dozen workers with Marshall Fine Arts spent several hours carefully removing the painted plaster monument from its pedestal inside the City Council chambers and surrounding it with sections of foam and wooden boards.
Why not remove all the statues from New York?
Featured image via YouTube.
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