Members of the New York City Council are demanding the removal of a Thomas Jefferson statue from City Hall amid cries across the county to tear down statues and landmarks that have connections to slavery.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilmembers Debi Rose, Inez Barron, Adrienne Adams and I. Daneek Miller, all Democrats, wrote a letter Thursday to Mayor Bill de Blasio calling for the removal the statue to be taken out of the Council Chambers of City Hall.
“In the last few weeks, New Yorkers have called on all of us in elected office to make bold change so that communities of color feel heard, protected and represented,” the letter stated.
“There are disturbing images of divisiveness and racism in our City that need to be revisited immediately. That starts with City Hall.”
The council members call the statue of Jefferson “inappropriate” and say it “serves as a constant reminder of the injustices that have plagued communities of color since the inception of our country.”
“Jefferson is America’s most noted slave holder, a man who owned more than 600 Black women and men and a scholar who maintained that Blacks were inferior to whites,” the council members wrote.
They asked for de Blasio’s support in removing the statue, saying that it “sends a terrible message to the people who are counting on us to work towards a more equitable New York City.”
