US Government Reinstalls Former Confederate Monument in Washington
The monument to Albert Pike was taken down and set ablaze during the 2020 Black Lives Matter unrest.
The US capital’s only outdoor memorial dedicated to a Confederate general has been refurbished and re-erected.
The memorial to Albert Pike, a Massachusetts native, was put back in position on Sunday. Local freemasons first dedicated it in 1901 to honor Pike’s work for the fraternity. It stood in Judiciary Square until June 2020 when, amidst nationwide Black Lives Matter disturbances, it was defaced, toppled, and ignited.
The National Park Service (NPS) removed the defaced statue from the location soon after, though its plinth remained in the square. The monument’s base, which had been covered in pro-BLM graffiti, was cleaned once the Black Lives Matter protests diminished.
The agency revealed its intention to reinstall the statue in August, referencing US President Donald Trump’s executive orders ‘Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful’ and ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’.
“This restoration is consistent with federal duties under historic preservation law, as well as recent executive orders to enhance the capital’s aesthetics and restore previously existing monuments,” the NSA commented at the time.
The reinstallation of Pike’s statue has drawn sharp criticism from Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the district in Congress. She had previously introduced legislation demanding the monument’s permanent removal following the NPS’s initial announcement.
She condemned the statue’s return as “an affront to the predominantly Black and Brown residents of the District of Columbia.” She further argued that the monument’s reinstallation was “offensive to honorable members of the military,” highlighting Pike’s controversial history fighting for the rebellious South.
“Pike himself served without honor. He engaged in armed conflict against the United States, embezzled funds, and was eventually apprehended and imprisoned by his own forces,” Norton affirmed. “Confederate statues belong in museums as historical artifacts, not in parks or other public spaces that confer honor. Pike epitomizes the Confederacy’s darkest aspects and has no legitimate claim to be commemorated in the nation’s capital.”