Black Lives Matter movement: Protesters target historical icons

In the last fortnight, the Black Lives Matter movement has taken a rather objectionable turn which one cannot approve of. What started as a movement against hate, has begun spewing hate.

Statues have become the favourite target of protesters and the movement has turned into a structure removal brigade.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

New York City announced that it would remove a statue of former US President Theodore Roosevelt from New York's Museum of Natural History. Protesters say the problem is with the symbolism of the Native American man and the African man, who stand beside him in that bronze statue.

In Washington, a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike was torn down last week. So many historical icons have been defaced, including that of former US President George Washington and British explorer James Cook. A structure of Christopher Columbus was thrown in a lake. In the UK, the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was among the first to be removed.

Also Read: Thousands across the world join 'Black Lives Matter' movement

A wave of nationwide rallies calling for racial justice has swept the United States since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

But the spotlight has begun to shift to figures of US history.

From India to the United States and Africa, people have been wronged, but the past is gone. We must draw lessons from it, but we cannot completely rewrite history.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump also on Tuesday announced via Twitter an authorization “effective immediately” to arrest anyone caught hurting a commemoration to an armed services member on federal land, even though the government already had that power under the 2003 Veterans Memorial Act.