Chicago is 'reviewing' 41 monuments including statues of Abraham Lincoln, Columbus, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as it decides whether they should be replaced because of ties to slavery and oppression
Chicago announced on Wednesday that a city commission is reviewing the fate of 41 statues including those honoring Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the city is seeking public comments before a decision is made on whether to remove the statues and replace them with something else as part of the Chicago Monuments Project.
They were identified by the commission from more than 500 monuments around the city, after a review began over the summer when Black Lives Matter protesters attacked two statues of Columbus, forcing Lightfoot to have them temporarily removed.
The mayor said that the project was launched afterward as part of a 'racial healing and historical reckoning' in the city, targeting Lincoln despite Illinois' own motto naming it the 'Land of Lincoln'.
The historical figures identified for removal are said to have ties to slavery, oppression, or subjugation.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot (pictured above) announced on Wednesday that Chicago is reviewing the fate of 41 statues including those honoring Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus
President Lincoln has been selected despite many regarding the 'Standing' Lincoln in Lincoln Park in Chicago, pictured, as one of the great masterpieces of public art
This statue of George Washington is also being reviewed because he was a slave owner
Others identified included Ulysses S. Grant and William McKinley, as well as Robert Cavalier de la Salle, Jacques Marquette, Louis Jolliet, General John Logan, General Philip Henry Sheridan, and Leif Ericson.
Many of the others include tributes to pioneers or depictions of Native Americans, as well as a police memorial based on the Haymarket riot.
'This project is a powerful opportunity for us to come together as a city to assess the many monuments and memorials across our neighborhoods and communities - to face our history and what and how we memorialize that history,' Mayor Lightfoot said in a statement.
'Given the past year and in particular the past summer that made clear history isn´t past, it is essential that residents are a part of this conversation.'
On Wednesday, besides identifying statues and markers of Lincoln, Washington and others for review, the city launched a website that details those flagged for review by the mayor's commission on monuments.
Members of the public have until April 1 to submit their opinion on the statues on social media or on the website, before the commission will decide officially on whether they will be removed and what they could be replaced with.
The commission is made up of 27 members, including city officials, artists, local academics, and museum curators.
It is chaired by Mark Kelly, Commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; Bonnie McDonald, President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois' and Jennifer Scott, a Public Historian and Curator.
'The Chicago Monuments Project Advisory Committee has considered hundreds of the city's sculptures and plaques in this critically important process,' Kelly said in a statement.
'The City's public art collection is a defining characteristic of Chicago and it should reflect and respect all Chicagoans.'
According to its website, the project aims to 'grapple with the often unacknowledged – or forgotten – history ... and provides a vehicle to address the hard truths of Chicago's racial history, confront the ways in which that history has and has not been memorialized, and develop a framework for marking public space that elevates new ways to memorialize Chicago's history more equitably and accurately.'
Its list for review includes five Lincoln statues located in different parts of the city.
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War that freed the slaves. But he has still come under fire in recent months over his treatment of Native Americans.
President William McKinley was selected as he led U.S. territorial expansion after the Spanish-American War of 1898 to take over the colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
His statue was already vandalized in December and has been hit with protests calling for its removal.
This statue is one of two to Christopher Columbus that is under review in Chicago
Franklin is described as 'complex' by the commission but this statues is still under review
Washington was identified as the nation's first president was a slave owner and Franklin is also being hit as he owned slaves as a young man.
General Logan opposed abolition, the commission said, while Grant was chosen as his 'American Indian policies were well intentioned, but ultimately disastrous'.
The announcement was met with a mixture of disgust and interest from Chicago residents. While the public can now have their say, the final decision will still ultimately lie with the commission.
'Nevermind the mismanagement of the pandemic, high crime, closed schools, and bankrupt finances of Chicago. The powers that be have spent the time and done the hard work necessary to identify 41 problematic monuments around the city, including these,' wrote Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics in a tweet.
'Can we not cancel Lincoln in Chicago?' John Greenfield also questioned.
'Yes, he made racist comments before becoming president, reflecting typical attitudes of white folks 160+ years ago. But hopefully taking a bullet for saving the union & signing Emancipation Proclamation outweighs that.
'And Union General John Logan? Yes, he initially opposed abolition, but as a postwar senator he worked for Black civil rights, women's suffrage, and public education, as well as helping to found Memorial Day and opposing prohibition,' he added.
The review is being met with derision by some on social media, pictured
'It's been coming on for decades, but the Stupid People are finally in charge - from #Biden down,' slammed a Twitter user named It's Next Year.
'There is a committee to take down statues in #Chicago - NOT to reduce crime or help small businesses. Pieces of marble are the Real problem. – its next year.'
'In case you were wondering, one of the monuments deemed "controversial" is an adolescent, barefooted Abe Lincoln sitting on a tree trunk,' joked another named Dylan Gresik.
Others appreciated the opportunity to have their say before a final decision was made and offered up their thoughts to the commission on social media.
'Why is The Republic in Jackson Park on the #ChicagoMonuments list for possible removal? The only context they list is that it is often mistaken for the original...,' one user wrote.
'I can see Confederate Monuments being moved, I certainly understand why the monument to Italo Balbo, given to Chicago by Benito Mussolini, might be troublesome, but what did Leif Ericson do that was objectionable? Or Robert Cavalier de La Salle?' questioned another named Seth Anderson.
Lincoln is targeted even though the state motto is 'The Land of Lincoln'
A user named Jedd Manuel also noted that many of those picked for review have already been targeted with physical attacks.
'Among the 41 monuments in Chicago being reviewed in this project is one that has *already* been bombed, hit by a streetcar, and moved four time,' he wrote in a tweet.
Chicago is among several U.S. cities that have been dealing with disputes over monuments celebrating Christopher Columbus, Confederate leaders, and other slave owners.
In the wake of the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, activists - angry about Columbus' mistreatment of Indigenous people - clashed with police in Chicago as they tried to forcibly remove a statue of the explorer.
Lightfoot ordered the 'temporary' removal of Columbus statues in June and it was unclear when or if they will be returned.
In San Francisco last month, his name was among several historical figures that the city's Board of Education voted to remove from schools.
Lincoln was included on the list after a committee determined Native Americans were mistreated during his administration.
Even with the removal of the statues in Chicago, the city would still have markers remembering several of the president including Lincoln Park and Grant Park.
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