A nearly 200-year-old statue of Thomas Jefferson that’s been a lightning rod for controversy for over two decades will be removed from the the City Council chambers by the end of the year, a design commission ruled Monday.
The Public Design Commission voted unanimously to delay the decision on where the statue should be relocated, but stipulated that no matter where it goes, it should not be in City Hall after the New Year.
“We have a victory,” said Councilwoman Inez Barron (D-Brooklyn), one of several elected officials who pushed for its removal. “I’m very pleased because we’ve achieved our objective.”
The statue of Jefferson, which was moved to the City Council’s chambers in 1915, has been in City Hall since 1834. It is the plaster model for a bronze statue that resides in the U.S. Capital.
The design commission, whose members were appointed by Mayor de Blasio, discussed the issue for nearly two hours Monday, hearing testimony from both supporters of the seven-foot-tall statue’s removal and those who felt it should remain, or be moved to different part of City Hall, because of its historic significance.
The specific proposal the panel considered Monday came from the City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, which was pushing for the statue to go to the New-York Historical Society.
But some members of the design panel questioned that piece of the proposal because the Historical Society charges an entrance fee, which would make the publicly-owned statue more difficult to view.
“When you’re going to deal with a public piece of art that is owned by the public, it is important to allow access and opportunity and educational components to be part of this,” said Merryl Tisch, a member of the commission who serves as a trustee for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “By tabling it, I was thinking along those lines.”
She suggested that instead of the statue going to the Historical Society, it could be sent to the New York Public Library, the home of a hand-written copy of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
Aside from authoring that key founding document, Jefferson was America’s third president and is renowned for championing equality and religious freedom — but he also owned hundreds of slaves and fathered children with one of them, Sally Hemmings.
It is that troubling part of Jefferson’s past, a piece that has been glossed over for centuries, that Black City Council members who testified Monday focused on most intently.
“As a lawmaker and perhaps more importantly as an African American woman, I cannot help but think of the other part of his legacy — not talked about enough,” said Councilwoman Adrienne Adams (D-Queens). “Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder who owned over 600 human beings, African slaves. He reaped the economic benefits of slave labor. He maintained the notion that Black people were inferior to white people.”
Others who testified defended the statue.
Jacob Morris, head of the Harlem Historical Society, said the commission should “remand” the issue to the City Council and not let it “foist” the decision off. He then suggested that the Council would better serve the public if it examined renaming places that honor Christoper Columbus; Boss Tweed, a corrupt city power broker of days past; and Richard Riker, who helped kidnap free blacks and put them into slavery and whose family once owned Rikers Island.
The Department of Education’s headquarters is named for Tweed.
“Now you’re talking about really, unequivocally horrible people,” Morris said.
New York State Assemblymember Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), who first introduced the idea of removing the Jefferson statue in 2001 during his time as a Councilman, didn’t agree. He testified that removing the statue to the Historical Society, or anywhere in public for that matter, is far too generous a fate.
“They should put it in a central place in the Black community and give us all sledgehammers and let us smash it into dust,” said Barron, husband to Councilwoman Barron. “It’s only plaster.”
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why dont they put a stalin or hitler statue in its place?
these people are beyond stupid an if they do not like the history of america well get the hell out we do not need or want you here.
As the ghost of Jefferson now spins in his grave having been taught by the modern actions of these history rewriters that all Men are Not created equal, but become Democrat party self-created fools, endowed by the Great Consumer with certain Alien ideas, rights, privileges and power to destroy the unalienable rights God blessed American men and women with. They turn American rights to Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness into abortive death, economic, body and mind slavery, in their persistent pursuit of power which only leads to American sadness and unhappiness. They would dictate that American Governments long established SHOULD be changed for light and transient causes; knowing full well that accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind is more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses of one political party in social usurpations of THE LAW, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce THE PEOPLE under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and throw out the political party that attempts to enslave them.
Don’t give them any ideas!
I know, how’s about WE ALL GO OUT AND PULL DOWN, every MLK statue out there.
“We have a victory,” said Councilwoman Inez Barron (D-Brooklyn),
We the socialist Democrats will remove the 200-year-old statue of Thomas Jefferson and
replace it with a statue of the criminal and drug addict George Floyd. 🙁 🙁 🙁
Don’t give them any ideas..
They have a gold statue of Floyd. That’s says it all right there.
NYC is not deserving of such a statue, nor are they deserving of the freedoms and liberties associated with the founders.
If Thomas Jefferson were still here, there would be a LOT of DC elites and politicians all over the country being evicted.
Am sick of Marxist liberal left Dems, especially the rich white ones, politically motivated toadying to the black, brown & yellow anti America anti white racist activists.
The founders of our nation, regardless of their human faults, deserve respect & gratitude in perpetuity from all the American citizens lucky enough to live in the great nation those founders created.
Anyone who despises or degrades the founders is actually attacking America & we must not tolerate such subversion.
Allowing public streets to be defaced with BLM logo & a plaza / statues of the drug addict & multi convicted felon, George Floyd, to be erected on public property are disgusting examples of how Dem Party Marxists & rich liberal left activists are endorsing / fomenting anti white working class racism & destroying the very principles of the Declaration of Independence that Jefferson wrote.
Thomas Jefferson had a response to today’s Woke Marxists: “WHEN TYRANNY BECOMES LAW, REBELLION BECOMES DUTY”.
I have not been to New York in at least 5 years. With the Anti-American stance of the politicians there.,
I will never again step foot in that city, nor will I purchase any products from New York Companies.
I know they won’t miss my business, but I hope to encourage others to follow in my path.
They should have evicted DiBlasio.
That will be the day!
The only big name in History is Hitler who never drank, played around with women or did any of the offensive things, prior to his horrible rule of Germany, that a number of U.S. Presidents have done while in office or before. Yet, would you vote for Hitler to be your president? I didn’t think you would. This statue of a great man is now being considered very evil by some very evil people. “Remove that statue, It offends me!” Well, bs, get a grip folks. He was part of History, yours and mine! If you don’t want to look at this great man’s statue, Don’t Look. Just that simple.
as she said “We have a victory,” said Councilwoman Inez Barron (D-Brooklyn), one of several elected officials who pushed for its removal. “I’m very pleased because we’ve achieved our objective.” their objective is to erase history and rewrite it
stupid, it is famously said, is like being dead. you don’t know it. everyone else does. the thomas jefferson statue reminds everyone apart from mz. barron, what it is like to be a confluence of brilliance all by oneself. President kennedy remarked on that at a dinner for nobel prize winners. there has never been a gathering of such magnitude of brilliance assembled here since thomas jefferson dined alone. but what did he know. it is mz. barron who knows. she doesn’t know how or why she knows. it isn’t her brain that is sending her messages. perhaps it is only the voices in her head. there’s a lot of that in new york city now.
That is what socialist does,remove history from the past past. I only have one question if you hate America and the men and women who fought for our freedom
And where government is by the people then pack and move to a socialist country where you will be welcome.
How about taking down the BIG BLACK fist in PA. I and many others find it racist. It’s meaning is black power and nothing else no matter what the liberals say.
Well, then it’s time to tear down the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, and ALL of the street signs, and schools renamed in his memory…
After all, HE preached non-violent civil rights (clearly at odds with BLM and Antifa terrorists)!
Every Statue of white men must come down its the democrats way.
Jefferson, Washington,Franklin, etc those are the men that helped create this great country. If you don’t like them you can leave. You know right where Africa is get
I’d love to help them pack if needed.