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News > U.S.

US: National History Museum to Remove Roosevelt Statue

  • Theodore Roosevelt’s statue in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S. June , 2020.

    Theodore Roosevelt’s statue in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S. June , 2020. | Photo: Twitter/@RandyMBell

Published 22 June 2020
Opinion

The monument, at the institution's entrance, shows Roosevelt in an equestrian pose followed by Native-American and African-American men.

New York City's American Museum of Natural History Sunday announced the removal of former president Theodore Roosevelt’s statue from its premises.

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“Over the last few weeks, our museum community has been profoundly moved by the ever-widening movement for racial justice that has emerged after the killing of George Floyd,” museum president Ellen Futter said to local news media.

The Roosevelt statue's removal was a response to the nationwide protests against racial discrination and police brutality. Across the U.S. demonstrators have removed several statues of controversial historical figures like Christopher Colombus.

The American Museum of Natural History has received prior petitions on statue removal. The monument, at the institution's entrance, shows Roosevelt in an equestrian pose followed by Native-American and African-American men.

“We have watched as the attention of the world and the country has increasingly turned to statues as powerful and hurtful symbols of systemic racism. Simply put, the time has come to move it,” Futter said. 

According to local news media, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio supports the museum’s decision, stating that the monument explicitly praises white supremacy and represents black and indigenous communities as inferior. 

Theodore Roosevelt IV, former President’s great-grandson endorses the statue removal. As he expressed, the memorial does not accurately represent Roosevelt’s legacy and reinforces values from a different time.

“It’s very important to note that our request is based on the statue, that is the hierarchical composition that’s depicted in it,” she said. “It is not about Theodore Roosevelt who served as governor of New York before becoming the 26th president of the United States and was a pioneering conservationist,” Futter added.

George Floyd's killing on May 25  motivated a new wave of protests against systemic racism and police brutality, not only in the U.S., but also in other nations where the black community also expressed discomfort.  

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