With Junipero Serra banished, California’s Indigenous activists and artists ask what goes in his place
Los Angeles, USRNS When the Junipero Serra statue in downtown Los Angeles was toppled four months ago, artist and community organizer Joel Garcia was among those who cried, prayed and celebrated in a Native American ceremony. Activists removed the monument to the 18th-century Franciscan missionary because it symbolises to many an imperial conquest that enslaved […]
US archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site
San Rafael, California, USAP The Archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150 supporters […]
Billy Graham statue to replace that of white supremacist in US Capitol
RNS A life-sized statue of Rev Billy Graham will be installed in the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall collection sometime next year, replacing a statue of a white supremacist that both the state of North Carolina and the US House want removed. Last week, a North Carolina legislative committee approved a two-foot tall model of the statue depicting […]
In the US state of Connecticut, disputes over Christopher Columbus statues play out in court
AP Disputes over what to do with statues of Christopher Columbus in Connecticut have resulted in both civil and criminal complaints. Sculptures of the explorer were erected in the 19th and 20th centuries across the state, which has a large Italian-American population, but many were taken down this summer following widespread racial injustice protests that […]
California bishops say protesters “failed the test” of history in toppling Junipero Serra statues
Los Angeles, USRNS The California Catholic Conference of Bishops is denouncing the toppling of Junipero Serra statues that protesters took down in San Francisco and Los Angeles over the weekend. “If this process is to be truly effective as a remedy for racism, it must discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in […]
San Francisco Archbishop criticises toppling of statue
San Francisco, USAP San Francisco Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone criticised the pulling down of the Junipero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park. “What is happening to our society? A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of […]
New Zealand city takes down statue of British navy commander
Wellington, New ZealandReuters A New Zealand city on Friday took down a statue of a British navy commander accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 19th century, as global debate swirls over monuments that represent racial oppression. Statues glorifying colonialists and slave traders have come into focus as part of a broader movement inspired […]
Find better ways to depict history, says South African #RhodesMustFall activist
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Countries must find more creative ways to depict their history than statues that glorify racists and colonialists, a founder of South Africa’s successful Rhodes Must Fall movement said on Thursday. A wave of anti-racism protests sweeping across the United States and Europe has reignited debate about monuments that glorify countries’ imperialist […]
Essay: Statues are just the start – the UK is peppered with slavery heritage
In an article first published on The Conversation, SOPHIE CAMPBELL, a PHD researcher at the University of Nottingham, wonders how the heritage sector in the UK will respond in light of the Black Lives Matter movement…
As Catholic synod deliberates, vandals dump controversial Indigenous carving into the Tiber
Vatican CityRNS Amid the buzz surrounding the last week of this month’s summit of bishops on the Amazon, the debate surrounding a small statue has captured Rome. The two-foot-high wooden carving of a naked pregnant woman was presented as “Our Lady of the Amazon” to Pope Francis on the first day of the synod on […]