Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has taken a break from her busy schedule of ignoring violent anti-police protests in her own city to figure out which problematic historical figures need to disappear from the public square.
Bowser has tasked a committee with determining which monuments need to be relocated, removed, or contextualized and which buildings and parks need to be renamed to reflect better the “values” that “DC residents hold dear.” The committee, District of Columbia Facilities and Commemorative Expressions, which was created on July 15 amid the George Floyd protests, recommends that the federal government “remove, relocate, or contextualize” the following statues and memorials.
- Christopher Columbus – Columbus Fountain
- Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin Statue
- Andrew Jackson – Andrew Jackson Statue
- Thomas Jefferson – Jefferson Memorial
- George Mason – George Mason Memorial
- Francis Griffith Newlands – Newlands Memorial Fountain
- Albert Pike – Albert Pike Statue
- George Washington – Washington Monument, George Washington Statue
One should probably assume that the committee recommends only contextualizing the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial because good luck removing or relocating those.
The group also recommends that public schools, government buildings, residential buildings, parks, fields, and playgrounds be scrubbed of problematic namesakes, including:
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Benjamin Franklin
- Thomas Jefferson
- Francis Scott Key
- James Monroe
- Zachary Taylor
- John Tyler
- Woodrow Wilson
- Andrew Jackson
- Robert Brent
“The District of Columbia is unique among other jurisdictions, serving as the seat of the federal government and home to 702,000 proud Washingtonians,” the committee’s leaders, Bowser adviser Beverly Perry and public library director Richard Reyes-Gavilan, said in the group’s official report. “In this space, monuments, memorials, statues and parks are named after national figures.”
It adds, “Since July 15, we have worked with eight working group members and more than twenty staff members to engage residents, examine policy and conduct research in making the recommendations contained herein. Our decision-making prism focused on key disqualifying histories, including participation in slavery, systemic racism, mistreatment of, or actions that suppressed equality for, persons of color, women and LGBTQ communities and violation of the DC Human Right Act.”
It is unclear how Ben Franklin fell into disfavor with the committee, considering how he was a scientific pioneer who led serious abolitionist efforts in the late 1700s. For that matter, it is unclear how the committee even determined which historical persons should disappear from public spaces. The Bowser-created group has not provided the reasoning behind its determinations. It is also unclear whether the committee is suggesting that the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial should be removed or relocated. Spokespersons for Bowser’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
“We believe strongly that all District of Columbia owned public spaces, facilities and commemorative works should only honor those individuals who exemplified those values such as equity, opportunity and diversity that DC residents hold dear,” the committee said in its report.
It adds, “Commemoration on a District of Columbia asset is a high honor reserved for esteemed persons with a legacy that merits recognition.”
So as businesses fail, riots continue, and anti-police agitators harass and berate those dining in the nation’s capital, at least Mayor Bowser has her priorities in order.
