On Monday, city officials voted to have the New York Public Design Commission remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson from New York City Hall.
According to The New York Times, the removal was due to concerns raised by some Black and Latino Council members about Jefferson’s ownership of slaves. The discussion gained traction over the past year as the country has taken into account other monuments that reflected similar messages.
“We’re not being revisionist. We’re not waging a war on history,” Inez Barron said during a public meeting. “We’re saying that we want to make sure the whole story is told—that there are no half-truths and that we are not perpetrating lies.”
“We started this battle 20 years ago,” said assemblyman Charles Barron. “And the only reason why they’re coming up with it now is because people are looking at deeper systemic problems in this system and calling for radical systemic change.”
“[The statue] was, and still is, one of the most prominent figures in the entire room—no matter where you’re sitting or standing, everyone inevitably sees the statue upon entering the chambers,” said Adrienne Adams, councilwoman and co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus. “It’s thanks to Thomas Jefferson that we hold dear certain unalienable rights; among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Yet, as a lawmaker, and perhaps more importantly as an African American woman, I cannot help but think about the other part of his legacy not talked about enough,” she continued. “Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder who owned over 600 human beings.”
“We need to confront and understand the whole picture, and that includes the legacy of Thomas Jefferson,” Adams finished.
The statue by Pierre-Jean David D’Angers has been in City Hall since 1834, and after moving to various locations in the building, it eventually ended up in the main chamber, where it has remained since 1915.
No decision was reached as to the new location of the statue. The two options being decided between were to either move the statue to a less prominent location in City Hall, or give the statue to the New-York Historical Society. Although the plan is to come to a decision regarding the statue’s final destination by the end of 2021, it was agreed that the statue would be removed from its current location in City Hall.
“”The bottom line is that there is no educational purpose for the statue to be in City Hall chambers,” Adams said.
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Original Article: New York City Council to Remove Thomas Jefferson Statue Due to His History as a Slaveowner
The woke mob is going to ruin this country
That is so stupid and shows HOW ILLITERATE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY ARE! I would be so embarrassed if I were them. ASHAMED AND EMBARASSED because as most HISTORIANS KNOW, the majority of Colonists had slaves because they had huge estates that needed human labor to run them! Thomas Jefferson was but one of many colonists with slaves! However, the reason his statue is there is because he helped build our U.S.
Constitution and government that we use today!
Here’s a question for those ignorantly woke Blacks:
WHERE WOULD YOU BE TODAY IF YOUR FOREFATHERS DIDN’T BECOME SLAVES IN AMERICA? You’d be still running the jungles of Africa in a loin cloth with a spear! They may have sacrificed to live here but you got an education and title which you would never have had not your ancestors be slaves in America!
CELEBRATE YOUR ANCESTORS! DO NOT TEAR DOWN OUR FOUNDING FATHERS FOR OWNING SLAVES! America would NEVER of had slaves if it were not for the MUSLIM BARBARY PIRATES THAT KIDNAPPED THEM FROM AFRICA! Want to be mad at someone about slavery? Be mad at the Barbary Pirates!
Instead of erasing History, why don’t they put up a statue of a Black Freedom Fighter, MLK, Tubberman, and other Black Leaders in the same area as Thomas Jefferson to start a conversation. The Color Revolution is what is happening in America, the eventual overthrow of a free Country.
This is ridiculous! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH PEOPLE!!!!!
This is ridi
Such stupidity this country continues! The fact still remains it’s history and until Floyd had an issue with a cop it NEVER bothered you before or you would have done something much sooner.
The lunatics are in control in politics and running the streets. It time to put all of you back under the rocks where you belong. This country is in the toilet and it shows EXACTLY what is happening because of your chaos and stupidity! This country is completely out of control.
You will NEVER change history no matter how many statues you pull dow! Idiots!
Their actions show JUST HOW ILLITERATE AND IGNORANT THE DEMOCRAT PARTY REALLY IS!
If those “Woke” Blacks want to be angry at someone they need to ACTUALLY STUDY THE HISTORY OF SLAVES! WOW! But that would be too much work, so instead they blame the founders of our great Country because the Democrats played the “slave” hand??
FYI WOKESTERS: THE MUSLIM BARBARY PIRATES RAIDED THE AFRICAN VILLAGES AND KIDNAPPED THOUSANDS OF NATIVE BLACKS SO THEY COULD SELL THEM “ALL OVER THE WORLD” AS SLAVES — WHICH THEY DID!! How do you think Blacks got to those other countries? If you illiterate WOKESTERS want to blame someone for displacing your Ancestors, BLAME THE MUSLIM BARBARY PIRATES!
Again, something to think about WOKESTER BLACKS:
If NO SLAVES ever came to America, WHERE WOULD YOU BE NOW? Out running the fields with a spear and loincloth trying to kill something for dinner! Yes, exactly! But instead you have an education, live in a nice home, not a hut and buy your food at the SuperMarket! SOUNDS LIKE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT TO ME IN BLACK LIVES!! So WHY ARE YOU BITCHIN ABOUT THE BETTER LIFE YOU ARE LIVING? It’s ALL POLITICAL PROPAGANDA ISN’t it!!
For shame to any Wokesters who fell for the same ole Democrap propaganda!! Tsk tsk! The Dems do NOT CARE ABOUT YOU NOR YOUR RACE. Read that last sentence again!! It is 100% true! THEY ARE ONLY USING WOKESTERS TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK BY PROMISING THEM LOTS OF GOODIES THAT NEVER WILL HAPPEN…and they don’t happen because the Dems LIED TO YOU AND YOU THOUGHT THEY CARED!! Sorry, Dems only care about themselves — no one else — especially NOT BLACKS!
Wokesters, YOU HAVE BEEN PLAYED BY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY!! Come on now! WISE UP AND STOP LISTENING TO THE DEMONRAT PARTY BECAUSE YOU ARE JUST A “TOOL” TO BE EXPLOITED BY DEMS! Wise up before you let the Dems control your brain, heart and Soul! GOD would not want that to happen to you! Just ask Him!
Is it just me or are other comment being approved or not??
Ridiculous.
Since New York was named after the Duke of York who was the LARGEST slave owner, why not rename the city after someone else.
Please don’t give them any ideas.
As I recall the line from the bible:
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
If we are going to restrict our memorials, statues, school and street names, and so forth only to perfect people who never did anything wrong and never offended anyone, we will have no memorials, statues, or streets and schools named after anyone. And our history books will never have the name of even a single person.
This current policy of erasing anyone who isn’t perfect is insanity and needs to be called out as such.
Please don’t give them any ideas.
Yes, this is pretty pathetic. So Jefferson was a slave owner. Seems to me I heard Biden’s family also owned slaves! So that idiot mayor in NYC has now ripped down statues of Columbus, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt and put up that ugly monstrosity of George Floyd. I guess we’re supposed to adore that drug addled criminal now. Wonder when deBlasio plans to put up a statue of himself!
I’m from a small country New Zealand, way south of USA, and we have a similar situation here as do many western world countries. Blamed on ‘slave ownership’ according to A. Adams, ……would it be fair to claim that she & her colleagues are demonstrating a form of claimed ‘ownership’ of millions (not just 600) of Americans?
NZ removed statues of Captain James Cook because they say he shot some Maori natives who were rushing at him and his crew with tongues poking out and aggressive facials, and threatening to kill the Captain’s men with spears!
The natural thing to do when so confronted, is to protect yourself from such aggressive, life-threatening stances?
Once the natives of the day settled into realisation of clever advancement, they now live with electricity, hot & cold running water, sanitation, motor cars, TV & a generally cruisy country lifestyle, envy of the world?
Another DEMOCRAT statue bites the dust.