NYC officials on the Public Design Commission unanimously voted on Monday to remove a longstanding statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall.
New York City officials on the Public Design Commission unanimously voted on Monday to remove a longstanding statue of Thomas Jefferson after black and Hispanic council members complained that the Founding Father’s slaveholder status permanently emblazoned in their City Hall chamber served as “a constant reminder of the injustices that have plagued communities of color since the inception of our country.” According to The New York Times, the 7-foot-tall Jefferson statue that towered over the City Council’s chamber for more than 100 years as a “testament to his role as one of the nation’s founding fathers and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence” will now be removed after months of attempts by the council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus to see it relocated. “Jefferson embodies some of the most shameful parts of our country’s history,” Adrienne Adams, a councilwoman from Queens and co-chair of the caucus, said shortly before the commission voted.
