Baltimore protesters sent a statue of Christopher Columbus to the bottom of the harbor in a move against America’s history of racism.
The statue had been erected 36 years ago by former mayor William Donald Schaefer near the Little Italy neighborhood.
On Saturday night, July 4th, protesters roped the statue and pulled it off its pedestal, toppling it to the ground where it shattered to pieces. Crowds of demonstrators have recently been removing tributes to statues “honoring white supremacists, owners of enslaved people, perpetrators of genocide, and colonizers.”
Louis Krauss, who filmed the act, informed CNN there were about 300 people gathered in the area when the monument was destroyed.
Following the collapse, protesters carried the broken pieces across the plaza and dropped them in Baltimore’s inner harbor.
A spokesperson for Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young stated the statue’s destruction is a result of the global reexamination of monuments “that may represent different things to different people.” Though Columbus is often credited with discovering America, he was responsible for the exploitation and mass genocide of native populations in the Americas.
Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott previously suggested the statue be removed.
“I support Baltimore’s Italian-American community and Baltimore’s indigenous community. I cannot, however, support Columbus,” he said.
President Donald Trump addressed the movement in his July 4th speech.
Together, we will fight for the American Dream, and we will defend, protect, and preserve the American way of life which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America.
We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters, and the people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing.
We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children.
Trump also signed an executive order to prosecute anyone who damages a statue to the fullest extent under federal law.
Photo Credit Spencer Compton|Twitter
