Tear Down This Statue

Today we’re bringing Everything bundle readers a timely post from Grace Dobush, who has been writing about urban design for years. Grace is a freelance journalist based in Berlin, and tells us she “loves falling down rabbit holes.” We hope you enjoy this one.

Since the George Floyd protests started, nearly 100 statues and memorials glorifying the Confederacy have been toppled or scheduled for removal. And dozens of statues and busts depicting people who left legacies of slavery and genocide, like Christopher Columbus, are meeting the same fate.

Removing sculptures of racists won’t end racism. But it at least stops normalizing the glorification of people who rose to power through subjugating Black and Indigenous people. Public art conveys a city’s values, not just its history.