Questions about the monuments that were posed to evaluate whether or not they were problematic included: “Did the person contribute positively to African Americans and other people of color?”
A new report commissioned by Washington, DC mayor Muriel Bowser following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis lists various US facilities or monuments that should be renamed, relocated, or contextualized.
Among the facilities that are recommended to be renamed are Woodrow Wilson Hall, John Tyler Hall, and Thomas Jefferson Hall. Playgrounds, including James Monroe Community Garden are also listed for their namesakes, which some have now deemed institutionally racist.
The report recommends that the city "recommend" the federal government to "remove, relocate, or contextualize" memorials including the Washington monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Columbus Fountain.
Questions about the monuments that were posed to evaluate whether or not they were problematic included: “Did the person contribute positively to African Americans and other people of color?” and “Can we find a reason the person was honored with the naming?”
Other factors included whether or not the namesake participated in slavery, whether or not they were involved in systemic racism, whether they supported oppression, and whether or not they supported "supremacist agendas."
While "comedians" such as John Oliver ridiculed President Trump in 2017 for statements insinuating that the removal of controversial statues such as those of Confederate General Robert E. Lee would lead to the removal of former Presidents.
"This week it's Robert E. Lee, I've noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down, I wonder: Is it George Washington this week, and Thomas Jefferson the week after. You really have to ask yourself, where does it stop?"
Oliver mocked Trump by responding: "I'll tell you where it stops: somewhere. Any time someone asks, 'where does it stop' the answer is 'f-cking somewhere.'"
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View on XTrump also expressed similar sentiments after the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally, saying:
George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down—excuse me, are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?
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