05-08-2025
Confederate statue which was removed during BLM protests set to be reinstalled
The National Park Service is planning to restore and reinstall a statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate general and Freemason leader, that was toppled during the protests against racism in 2020.'The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation's capital and re-instate pre-existing statues,' the National Park Service said in a statement, pointing to President Donald Trump's executive order on Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful and the executive order on Restoring Truth and Sanity to American National Mall and Memorial Parks, manged by the National Parks Service, took it to their social media platform X, to announce that the statue will return its stone base by this erected in 1901, the Albert Pike Memorial was damaged by vandals and removed in 2020. The bronze statue is being repaired and will be returned to its stone base this fall. Learn more at National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) August 4, 2025ALL ABOUT THE STATUE
The defaced statue depicts Albert Pike, a Confederate diplomat and general who worked closely with Native Americans from slave-owning tribes that sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War and fought to protect slavery as an institution. He was also a leader of the Freemasons — a secretive fraternal society that included many powerful politicians and elite figures in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the only standing statue of a confederate general in the was labelled as a racist and was a part of the Ku Klux AGAINST REINSTALLATIONOpposing the restoration plan, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton stated that she would introduce a bill to remove the decision to restore and reinstall the statue of Confederate Albert Pike is indefensible. Pike served dishonorably, misappropriated funds, and was ultimately imprisoned by his fellow troops.I'll reintroduce my bill to remove the Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) August 4, 2025"The decision to honour Albert Pike by reinstalling the Pike statue is as odd and indefensible as it is morally objectionable," Norton said. "He resigned in disgrace after committing a war crime and dishonouring even his own Confederate military service. Even those who want Confederate statues to remain standing would have to justify awarding Pike any honour, considering his history."Increased tension and racial equality protests ignited by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota triggered the toppling down of the statue by the protesters.- EndsWith inputs from Reuters
