A Wave Of Vandalism Across U.S: Statues Of Columbus And Other Figures Seen As ‘Slavers’ And ‘Colonisers’ Toppled

As anti-racism protests over the death of black American George Floyd sweeps across several cities in US marked by calls to remove sculptures commemorating colonizers and slavers, the statues of Christopher Columbus in Boston, Miami and Virginia have been vandalised.

Italian explorer Columbus, feted by school textbooks as the discoverer of "The New World," is considered by many as a symbol of genocide against Native Americans. Native American activists have fought against honouring Columbus, saying that his expeditions to the Americas led to the colonisation and genocide of their ancestors.

In Saint Paul, Minnesota , angry demonstrators threw a rope around the 10ft bronze statue of Columbus and then pulled the figure off its stone pedestal.

A statue of Columbus in Boston was beheaded on Wednesday (Jun 10) , local police said.

A Columbus statue was also vandalized in downtown Miami, and another was dragged into a lake earlier in the week in Richmond, Virginia,

A statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was also vandalised in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday (Jun 10) night.