#BREAKING: Demonstrators topple statues in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. A statue of Christopher Columbus in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park was taken down early on Friday, a week after protesters trying to topple the monument to … The statues were removed in a quick, pre-dawn operations with no announcement from the city, spawning comparisons to the secretive destruction of Meigs Field by then-Mayor Richard Daley in 2003. • Ulysses S. Grant statue, ... Top lawmakers in Sacramento announced that the marble sculpture of the Italian explorer and Queen Isabella would be removed. The Grant Park statue started to come down at around 3:15 a.m. Police officers swarmed the scene, using pepper spray to push protesters away from the statue. As Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union troops prepared to march into Richmond in the final days of the Civil War in 1865, the president of the Confederate States of America fled the capital city. Rioters in California destroyed a statue of Ulysses S. Grant (not the one featured in the image above) on Friday night as far-left activists continue to destroy statues across the U.S. Grant, a Republican who served as America’s 18th president, played a key role in helping then-President Abraham Lincoln win the Civil War. Lightfoot resisted taking down the statues as recently as late June, saying they could be used to teach people about the history of the United States. This is just ignorance. A small crowd cheered and passing cars honked as the statue came down about 3 a.m. A statue of former President Ulysses S. Grant-- the Union general who led his army to victory against the Confederacy during the Civil War-- … One teacher calls returning to school a "life and death" decision while Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson say schools must open to prevent students from falling behind. Most controversially, protesters also pulled down a statue of Ulysses S Grant — the Union general responsible for the defeat of the Confederacy — because he … On Friday night, saboteurs ripped down monuments that were dedicated to Ulysses S. Grant, Francis Scott Key, and an 18th-century Spanish priest who was canonized as a saint.Rioters leveled a statue dedicated to Ulysses S. Protesters in San Francisco, California, toppled a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the U.S. who led the Union Army during the Civil War, among other monuments at … The statue was spray-painted with the words "genocidal colonist.". Crews remove the Christopher Columbus statue from its pedestal in Grant Park the morning of July 24, 2020. CBS 2’s Marissa Parra reported crowds cheered overnight as the Grant Park statue was removed by the city. Toppling Confederate statues...fine...understandable. Back in 1848, Grant married into a slave-owning family condemned by his abolitionist father. These are selected by the writer and confirmed by the editor. Ald. Just admit it. She urged patience, saying the city would conduct a comprehensive review of Chicago’s monuments. If you’re defending the toppling of his statue on a day commemorating emancipation, ask yourself why. Lots of folks inexplicably defending a slave owner on Juneteenth, so just to be clear: Grant owned a slave for about a year and married into a slave owning family. RELATED: Douglas Park Will Be Renamed For Frederick Douglass, Park District Board Says: ‘We Have Heard You’. Protesters in San Francisco, California, toppled a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the U.S. who led the Union Army during the Civil War, among other monuments at Golden Gate Park on Friday. The statue in Little Italy was removed early Friday morning. Late Thursday night, Ald. Someone then scaled the 33-foot-tall statue and put ropes around it in an attempt to topple it. The crowd cheered and passing cars honked as the statue came down about 3 a.m. Friday. When the latest round of Confederate statue removal fever broke out, a number of conservatives were left wondering where it might all end. Chicago removed a Christopher Columbus statue from the city's lakefront Grant Park before dawn Friday, a week after protesters tried to topple it. Already subscribe? Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the statue has been "temporarily removed ... until further notice" due to safety concerns after police and protesters clashed over the piece. “… There was no consultation or communication with the community about that,” Ervin said. Protesters on Friday toppled a statue in San Francisco of former President Ulysses S. Grant, who famously led the Union Army to victories that crippled and ultimately brought down the Confederacy. Brian Hopkins (2nd) told Block Club he was notified of the planned removal Thursday. The three statues in San Francisco join a host of other monuments that have been torn down in recent days amid ongoing protests following the killing of George Floyd last month. “This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols,” Lightfoot said in the statement. ... Grant has been regarded by some as anti-Semitic. About a half hour later, crews could be seen tying ropes around the statue. Crews used a large crane to remove the statue from its pedestal as a small crowd gathered to watch. Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park removed. On Friday, protesters in Washington D.C. were reported to have torn down a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike and set it on fire near the Washington D.C. police headquarters. ... Ulysses S. Grant. Video of the statue being removed: About 1:30 a.m. at Grant Park, trucks arrived in the southern edge of the park and crews began cutting down the fencing and bringing in heavy equipment. Grant led Union armies to … A daily dose of neighborhood news delivered to your inbox every morning. ... removed as part of the mayor’s new purge. In San Francisco on Friday a statue of another president, Ulysses S Grant, was among monuments pulled down in Golden Gate Park. In a statement hours later, Lightfoot said the statues have been “temporarily removed … until further notice” due to safety concerns. “… This is not about a single statue or mural, but how we create a platform to channel our city’s dynamic civic energy to collaboratively, purposefully and peacefully reflect our values as Chicagoans and uplift the stories of all of our diverse city’s residents, particularly when it comes to the permanent memorialization of our shared heritage,” according to the statement. The removal — temporary or permanent — was the second time this week city leaders acceded to organizers who demanded changes to who is honored on city property. Just after 3 a.m., crews successfully separated the statue from its base, lifting it away with a crane and a harness. Protests over the statues had become unsafe for protesters and police, Lightfoot said in her statement, and individuals had attempted to topple the statue in Grant Park “in an extremely dangerous manner.”. In efforts to protect the safety of the public ahead of a weekend filled with protest, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the removal of the Christopher Columbus statues at Grant and Arrigo park. conduct a comprehensive review of Chicago’s monuments. This includes directly interviewing sources and research / analysis of primary source documents. Columbus — born in Genoa, Italy, and whose explorations were sponsored by the Spanish monarchy — has long been touted as the man who “discovered” America on Oct. 12, 1492. See why nearly a quarter of a million subscribers begin their day with the Starting 5. The groups clashed, leaving protesters and police officers injured. Protests continue across the country following the death of Floyd, which sparked a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and renewed outcry against police brutality and racism. Protesters hold signs and chant during a demonstration to honor of George Floyd on June 03, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. A third statue … The Grant Park statue, sculpted by Carl Brioschi, was erected in 1933 as part of the city’s celebration of A Century of Progress, the city’s second World’s Fair. Qualifications include being elected by voters of the 2nd Ward to represent their views. “Yet we don’t want to see this become a virtue signal. About a half hour later, crews could be seen tying ropes around the statue. https://t.co/gPWHCMVKPq, The Chi-Nations Youth Council, which includes young Native American organizers who were among those who led the Grant Park protest last week, praised the decision but said it came at the cost of “our blood and beaten bodies, at the hands of Chicago Police under the demands of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.”, “The people got this statue removed, the solidarity between Black and Indigenous peoples got this removed,” the group wrote in its statement. The move to take down the statue came on the heels of weeks of increased pressure from local organizers, community leaders and City Council members to remove symbols, monuments and other honorifics in the city memorializing figures of white supremacy. On Thursday night, a statue of George Washington, the first president of the U.S., was torn down by a group of people in Portland, Oregon. On Dec. 29, the statue was removed. "I never was an abolitionist, not even what could be called anti-slavery," he wrote to his friend and patron, Elihu Washburne. The museum window displayed items from its "Trial Of The Chicago 7" exhibit, but the motive of the vandalism is unclear. A Columbus statue was also removed from the … A statue that depicts a formerly enslaved man kneeling at President Abraham Lincoln's feet rests on a pedestal in Boston in June. At that protest, people scaled the statue, threw ropes around it and tried to pull it down. We are now on the Roosevelt side just south of the statue.#OnAssignment for @BlockClubCHI pic.twitter.com/VggaAspLMH. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. @hurd_hurd will have details on our News at 11. https://t.co/RvmlMqu73s pic.twitter.com/iUZE28AvdD, Vandals tear down 3 statues at Golden Gate Park claiming they enslaved people #Juneteenth @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/T6VmTtcRaq, Activists just toppled the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park here in San FranciscoNow they’re onto Francis Scott Key, slave owner and writer of the Star Spangled Banner pic.twitter.com/Ykv0hFMZvK, This is no longer about righting wrongs. The statue in Grant Park had been the subject of high-profile protests in recent weeks — including one July 17 where police and protesters violently clashed, leaving dozens of protesters and police officers injured. That relentless activism, organizers say, that finally forced the mayor ’ s neighborhoods to it... An ambivalent stance towards slavery, according to a letter he wrote 1863!, July 24, 2020 in San Francisco 's Golden Gate Park have... 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