California City Removes Historic Statue In the Dead of Night

The City of Arcata, California has reportedly bowed to the wishes of its Native American political activists and removed a statue of President William McKinley in early morning hours.

The activists argued that President McKinley represented Settler Colonialism.

As reported by breitbart.com


McKinley, a Republican, is considered one of the better presidents the U.S. has had. At the time of his assassination by an anarchist in 1901, he was “he was one of the most beloved presidents in American history,” an article in Politico recalled recently. Born in Ohio, he fought for the Union in the Civil War. His presidency is associated with the expansion of American power across the globe and the growth of American industry — including through tariffs.

In 2015, over Ohio’s objections, President Barack Obama renamed Mount McKinley in Alaska — the highest peak in North America at 20,310 feet — to Denali, its Athabascan name (which is what locals had called it anyway).

But radicals in Arcata wanted more. As Breitbart News reported in 2018, they agitated for the removal of the local McKinley statue, arguing that McKinley represented “settler colonialism” and damaged Native American tribes. The Eureka Times-Standard noted that activists said he represented “imperialism, white supremacy and genocide.”

The city council finally relented and voted in February to send the statue to a monument in Ohio. But as the Times-Standard reported Thursday, the city removed the statue without notice. Activists complained that the city’s move meant it still was insensitive to the feelings of Native Americans.

When will the voices of so few stop affecting the lives of so many? 

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