A statue of Christopher Columbus in Virginia has been torn down by protesters. It was then draped in a burning flag and thrown into a lake. The statue was toppled on Tuesday night in the latest action against monuments in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
NBC 12 reported, Protesters used several ropes to remove the statue. A sign that reads “Columbus represents genocide” is placed on the spray-painted foundation that once held the figure. Elsewhere, another statue of Columbus in Boston’s Atlantic Avenue in Massachusetts was beheaded.
Columbus is venerated in the US for his exploration of the Americas. But he has also provoked controversy over his role against indigenous populations in the Americas. Native American advocates have long pressed states to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
A wave of demonstrations has swept across the United States and Europe following the death of George Floyd. Floyd, 46, died after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while he was held face down in a street in Minneapolis on May 25. He was laid to rest beside his mother at the
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