The Democratic-led New York City Council's Cultural Affairs Committee will hold a public meeting Tuesday to discuss a proposal that aims to remove statues of historical figures with ties to slavery.
This mainly affects statues "that depict a person who owned enslaved persons or directly benefitted economically from slavery, or who participated in systemic crimes against indigenous peoples or other crimes against humanity" will be removed. This isn't the first time the city has tried to cancel historical figures. In 2021, a statue of Thomas Jefferson was removed from City Hall because he owned slaves.
The City Council's meeting agenda states, "If PDC determines a work of art depicts a person who fits these criteria and decides not to remove the work of art, PDC would be required to include in the plan steps it will take to install an explanatory plaque next to the work of art."
The bill would also require the Department of Transportation to consult with the Department of Education to put plaques on sidewalks or other public spaces adjacent to schools that bear the name of a person who meets those criteria. If the project is approved, statues that depict historical people like Christopher Columbus, George Washington and Peter Stuyvesant will be removed.
Another item on the agenda is a proposal to create a task force to "consider the impact of slavery and past injustices for African Americans in New York City and reparations for such injustices." The aim of these proposals is to fight "racism" and establish a "Commission on Racial Equity to establish a Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation process in connection with the City’s historic involvement in slavery."
