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Twitter Users Share 29 Statues That Are Better Than The Ones Protesters Are Tearing Down
The recent protester-initiated takedown of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol (due to his affiliation with slave trade) has sparked much debate, forcing societies to rethink who they choose to honor through this medium.
This has also inspired the takedown of a number of other statues, namely those of Christopher Columbus, Jefferson Davis, and the Portsmouth Confederate Statue, and there are also demands to remove the Cecil Rhodes statue in the UK as well.
And while this statue purge continues, it’s important to note that not all statues honor people of dubious or debatable reputation, as there are a number of them honoring political leaders, social activists, and all-around good guys in history.
Twitter has recently begun sharing photos of statues honoring people who have genuinely stood for peace, equality, and justice, speaking against structural racism, sexism, homophobia, and many other social issues.
Bored Panda invites you to check out the best picks below. While you’re there, why not vote on your favorites and leave a comment in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
In April 1985, Danuta Danielsson was 38 years old when her famous reaction to a neo-nazi demonstration by the Nordic Reich Party was captured by Hans Runesson. She had moved to Sweden a few years earlier, having married a Swedish man. Her mother had been at the Majdanek concentration camp, not Auschwitz. Danuta regretted the incident and all that followed. She was battling psychological problems and three years later, at 41, she committed suicide. (https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/danuta-fran-polen-var-tanten-med-vaskan/) The statue was not without controversy. (https://mckitterick.tumblr.com/post/184320596645)
This is probably in Grenada, the country in the West Indies. Not Granada, the land-locked city in Spain. Though there is a New Granada too, which seems to be a catch-all for the Spanish colonies in the americas.
It was quite interesting reading about the famine. Initially, there was a huge response by the British government to help the famine victims and very large charity drives throughout the British isles. However, after the first year of the famine public sympathy had dried up. Papers were blaming mismanagement in Ireland, underestimating the number of people affected by on going starvation. Politicians were concerned ongoing intervention in the food markets was having more a detrimental then beneficial effect. Public sympathy had turned to hostility as waves of Irish migrants arrived in Britain. So the remaining years of famine the Irish peasants were on their own. It reminded me of the way the EU responded to the migrant crisis in modern times, initially with a huge out pouring of empathy and accepting many millions in, then cold disinterest and rejection.
That's how a true leader should be, not some idiot who can wage a war by typing gibberish on Twitter.
He helped the allies win the war by breaking the Enigma code, but after the war him being gay was the only thing that mattered. Nowadays he is praised for what he has achieved, but his contemporaries condemned him for whom he loved.
I've read her diary when I was 14 and I couldn't do it again. Reading it with the knowledge of what happened was emotionally too stressful for me at that age.
That’s odd.... I know Virginia like the back of my hand and no one has ever told me that this beautiful and meaningful statue existed!
For those who are confused about Spanish and Portuguese mentioned above: Magellan was indeed Portuguese, but he sailed under the Spanish flag.
I wasn't familiar with Miss Davison, so I did research. She was an English suffragette. During one of her protests, she threw herself in front of the King's horse at Epsom Derby. She died four days later.
While Riel did sentence Thomas Scott to execution by firing squad, he himself never carried weapons and never personally killed anyone. He was a leader who led a rebellion, who was then executed for treason.
Reminds me painfully of Marikana South Africa. Imperialism and Capitalism at their best
I will always be confused by the stone they used for this incredible monument.
I always assumed it was to put him on the same level as the other great monuments in DC. Like the Lincoln Memorial.
Load More Replies...Martin Luther King Jr. was a true hero. It would be interesting to know how he would feel about everything going on now.
The paper in his hand is the Declaration of Independence. MLK's statue faces the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin and the symbolism is that he's holding Jefferson accountable to what he wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Thank you! I love that. He is a manI respect.
Load More Replies...fact - on the north side of this monument, they originally paraphrased one of his quotes and it changed the meaning, it caused controversy and was eventually changed.
I remember reading about this while it was still being constructed, and being so excited that he was getting his own memorial. I still have yet to see it, but I will someday.
MLK was not a perfect man and I don't care. Be sure you don't apply a purity test to anyone in history. No one can pass!
I did research since I wasn't familiar with Mary Barbour. She was closely associated with the Red Clydeside movement in the early 20th century and especially for her role as the main organiser of the women of Govan who took part in the rent strikes of 1915
Its natural that this woman's story makes people feel uncomfortable. During the 19th century everyone in Britain was told colonialism and missionary work was an unmitigated good, because it allowed people like Slessor to do the things she did. After decolonisation in the 1970s we were told it was a terribly corrupt practice which led to widespread, abuse, exploitation and destruction of native cultures through arrogance. I sought out some opinions from the people who were evangelised and guess what? There was no consensus even among them. One man said "Westernisation was wonderful. No body kills anyone anymore, we can trade for food and clothes" and another said "westernisation was terrible. Everybody has become an alcoholic, no one does proper work. We don't know who we are anymore"
What about someone or people with disabilities? The first ones to be experimented on and exterminated in nazi Germany? The hundreds of thousands of "feeble minded" sent away to camps and sterilized in the United States? The British man who started the Paralympics Games after WWI? I would appreciate that as well as all these amazing ones. :)
Who in the world downvoted this? I think we do need to remember what people with "disabilities" have gone through, and still go through, in their fight to be treated humanely and equally.
Load More Replies...And here's one of the latest (he has about 10 all over Canada!) of Terry Fox in St. John's, Newfoundland. It commemorates the moment he started his Marathon of Hope in 1980 by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean. https://terryfox.org/terrys-story/honours/ terry-fox-...9f2f13.jpg
Go down Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. Lee, Stuart, fellow traitors/rebels are portrayed in glamorous militaristic poses in huge white statues... Arthur Ashe, small bronze statue. Mr. Bonjangles, ditto. No trace of MLK Jr. No statues of a non-white bigger than life. Only white guys who lost a war that, yes, did involve the right to own slavery.... How we present history affects what lessons we learn from it. And that street is a history class of itself.
Fantastic collection! I'd like to add two of my heroes, Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog (College Park, Maryland). They've both dedicated their lives to teaching kids their ABCs and 123s, how to cooperate and share, and that it's okay to be green or purple or even black, via humour and hand puppets. Jim-Henson...e9b851.jpg
For all these a******s saying that they need to look at statues of treasonous slavers every day so they can remember that slavery is wrong, I think we should erect a giant monument glorifying my morning c**p so that they can gaze at it and remember to wash their hands. And if that doesn't make sense to you, then neither should the other statues.
This fisherman stands in our harbor to honor all the men lost at sea. There is a ceremony every year to honor them. fisherman-...b8d9c5.jpg
The Women's memorial monument for the almost 30 000 Boer women and children killed in the English concentration camps in South Africa in 1900's Emily-5ee7...8e5ceb.jpg
Would there be room for Fray Fernando de Montesinos, in Santo Domingo? He was one of the first advocates for equal rights in the New World. fray-5ee80...99bb8a.jpg
I like to add the Hans Christian Andersen Statues(we have a lot here in Denmark) he famous stories are known over the world, and the only book who have been translated more than his is the bible. there is also a really good one in new york of him reading to a duck.
There's a statue- not a very big one though- of Hank Aaron at the ball field here, because he briefly played where I live. Like, very briefly. The issues that he faced weren't issues of genocide or famine, but honestly in our primarily white area I feel like it was a positive thing. Mainly because it's a statue that everyone knows is there, and learning about him have a lot of us a better idea of the fact that racism doesn't take a break because somebody is good at baseball. I know the only reason he's there is because we've very few people who go on to any success- the only one I can think of otherwise is Justin Vernon- but I'm still very happy that he's there.
Thank you, Bored Panda, for featuring so many of the true heroes of the "age of discovery" -- the indigenous peoples that defended their homelands against the real barbarians (the European "explorers") and the kidnapped Africans that rebelled against being enslaved far from their homes. Most of the faux heroes we learn about in school were nothing but ignoble, vicious cutthroats, slave-traders, and looters motivated only by gold.
Near the Viet Nam Wall are 2 statues, one of several troops walking through the bushes, and one to Viet Nam Army nurses. That one is really beautiful.
They should replace every single confederate statue with Robert Smalls. He escaped slavery, outsmarted the entire confederate navy by stealing one of their own ships, and went on to be a military hero for the side that actually won the war. Look him up. He was amazing.
You need more threads like this Bored Panda. I have learnt a lot from this and gone on to look up more about the different people from around the world 👍😊
There's also the statue of the Clinton 12 at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Tennessee. They were the first to attend an integrated school in the segregated south. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/clinton-12-statue-at-green-mcadoo-cultural-center
I'd like to add one - https://www.macqueenfineart.com/sixteenth-street-baptist-church-public-memorial-sculpture/ The Four Spirits - Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, And Carole Robertson who were in the Baptist Church in Alabama in 1963
Nice to see a post about not just victory over oppressions but an introduction to unknown heroes in a beginning of time struggle
Protesters tore down a statue of Lincoln. The man who freed slaves in the US. Edit-This might have been false
A google search is not showing any indication that is true. There was a statue vandalized in London, as well as false rumors of the Lincoln Memorial being vandalized, but not statues of Lincoln have been torn down as far as I can tell.
Load More Replies...Depends on the context. Saying that your society isn't racist if you get rid of those statues is saying you are not a serial killer if you get rid of your murder weapon.
Load More Replies...Not even reading this racist garbage. Oh, and you misspelled “terrorists”. True journalism is dead. You suck, kid.
Actually, they stole and sold the art to fund genocide. Oh, and the USA still has school boards taht censor books and art permitted in schools. And nobody has statues to the Nazis in Germany. NOBODY is free of the taint of racism, of bigotry, but apparently, rather than accepting that and trying to better the world, you decide to toss out anything that you hope will shut down those whose beliefs and desires are not your own.
Load More Replies...Wow, you really are filth, aren’t you? So afraid, just like the tiny coward in the WH.
Load More Replies...How does removing a statue equate to muffling history away? In order for a statue to have meaning you need to know the history behind it, so why use a disgraceful part of said history to represent it? I seriously doubt anyone would find it appropriate to have a statue of Hitler erected to represent the Holocaust, so why is it appropriate to have statues of slave traders?
Load More Replies...I often have to remind myself (especially since 2016, I live in the US) that bigots are taught bigotry. It's not innate; it can be unlearned with effort, empathy, and experience.
Load More Replies...You're right, the confederacy was also fighting for white supremacy.
Load More Replies...You are correct. It is wrong to identify a rioter as a protester. It is misleading as to the person's actions and implies that they have a right to commit the crime.
Load More Replies...There is a big difference in placing these statues in museums and teaching people about the horrendous acts that they committed, and having their statues on honoured places in cities. You don't see statues of Adolf Hitler in Germany, yet no one has forgotten his historical significance
Load More Replies...What about someone or people with disabilities? The first ones to be experimented on and exterminated in nazi Germany? The hundreds of thousands of "feeble minded" sent away to camps and sterilized in the United States? The British man who started the Paralympics Games after WWI? I would appreciate that as well as all these amazing ones. :)
Who in the world downvoted this? I think we do need to remember what people with "disabilities" have gone through, and still go through, in their fight to be treated humanely and equally.
Load More Replies...And here's one of the latest (he has about 10 all over Canada!) of Terry Fox in St. John's, Newfoundland. It commemorates the moment he started his Marathon of Hope in 1980 by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean. https://terryfox.org/terrys-story/honours/ terry-fox-...9f2f13.jpg
Go down Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. Lee, Stuart, fellow traitors/rebels are portrayed in glamorous militaristic poses in huge white statues... Arthur Ashe, small bronze statue. Mr. Bonjangles, ditto. No trace of MLK Jr. No statues of a non-white bigger than life. Only white guys who lost a war that, yes, did involve the right to own slavery.... How we present history affects what lessons we learn from it. And that street is a history class of itself.
Fantastic collection! I'd like to add two of my heroes, Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog (College Park, Maryland). They've both dedicated their lives to teaching kids their ABCs and 123s, how to cooperate and share, and that it's okay to be green or purple or even black, via humour and hand puppets. Jim-Henson...e9b851.jpg
For all these a******s saying that they need to look at statues of treasonous slavers every day so they can remember that slavery is wrong, I think we should erect a giant monument glorifying my morning c**p so that they can gaze at it and remember to wash their hands. And if that doesn't make sense to you, then neither should the other statues.
This fisherman stands in our harbor to honor all the men lost at sea. There is a ceremony every year to honor them. fisherman-...b8d9c5.jpg
The Women's memorial monument for the almost 30 000 Boer women and children killed in the English concentration camps in South Africa in 1900's Emily-5ee7...8e5ceb.jpg
Would there be room for Fray Fernando de Montesinos, in Santo Domingo? He was one of the first advocates for equal rights in the New World. fray-5ee80...99bb8a.jpg
I like to add the Hans Christian Andersen Statues(we have a lot here in Denmark) he famous stories are known over the world, and the only book who have been translated more than his is the bible. there is also a really good one in new york of him reading to a duck.
There's a statue- not a very big one though- of Hank Aaron at the ball field here, because he briefly played where I live. Like, very briefly. The issues that he faced weren't issues of genocide or famine, but honestly in our primarily white area I feel like it was a positive thing. Mainly because it's a statue that everyone knows is there, and learning about him have a lot of us a better idea of the fact that racism doesn't take a break because somebody is good at baseball. I know the only reason he's there is because we've very few people who go on to any success- the only one I can think of otherwise is Justin Vernon- but I'm still very happy that he's there.
Thank you, Bored Panda, for featuring so many of the true heroes of the "age of discovery" -- the indigenous peoples that defended their homelands against the real barbarians (the European "explorers") and the kidnapped Africans that rebelled against being enslaved far from their homes. Most of the faux heroes we learn about in school were nothing but ignoble, vicious cutthroats, slave-traders, and looters motivated only by gold.
Near the Viet Nam Wall are 2 statues, one of several troops walking through the bushes, and one to Viet Nam Army nurses. That one is really beautiful.
They should replace every single confederate statue with Robert Smalls. He escaped slavery, outsmarted the entire confederate navy by stealing one of their own ships, and went on to be a military hero for the side that actually won the war. Look him up. He was amazing.
You need more threads like this Bored Panda. I have learnt a lot from this and gone on to look up more about the different people from around the world 👍😊
There's also the statue of the Clinton 12 at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Tennessee. They were the first to attend an integrated school in the segregated south. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/clinton-12-statue-at-green-mcadoo-cultural-center
I'd like to add one - https://www.macqueenfineart.com/sixteenth-street-baptist-church-public-memorial-sculpture/ The Four Spirits - Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, And Carole Robertson who were in the Baptist Church in Alabama in 1963
Nice to see a post about not just victory over oppressions but an introduction to unknown heroes in a beginning of time struggle
Protesters tore down a statue of Lincoln. The man who freed slaves in the US. Edit-This might have been false
A google search is not showing any indication that is true. There was a statue vandalized in London, as well as false rumors of the Lincoln Memorial being vandalized, but not statues of Lincoln have been torn down as far as I can tell.
Load More Replies...Depends on the context. Saying that your society isn't racist if you get rid of those statues is saying you are not a serial killer if you get rid of your murder weapon.
Load More Replies...Not even reading this racist garbage. Oh, and you misspelled “terrorists”. True journalism is dead. You suck, kid.
Actually, they stole and sold the art to fund genocide. Oh, and the USA still has school boards taht censor books and art permitted in schools. And nobody has statues to the Nazis in Germany. NOBODY is free of the taint of racism, of bigotry, but apparently, rather than accepting that and trying to better the world, you decide to toss out anything that you hope will shut down those whose beliefs and desires are not your own.
Load More Replies...Wow, you really are filth, aren’t you? So afraid, just like the tiny coward in the WH.
Load More Replies...How does removing a statue equate to muffling history away? In order for a statue to have meaning you need to know the history behind it, so why use a disgraceful part of said history to represent it? I seriously doubt anyone would find it appropriate to have a statue of Hitler erected to represent the Holocaust, so why is it appropriate to have statues of slave traders?
Load More Replies...I often have to remind myself (especially since 2016, I live in the US) that bigots are taught bigotry. It's not innate; it can be unlearned with effort, empathy, and experience.
Load More Replies...You're right, the confederacy was also fighting for white supremacy.
Load More Replies...You are correct. It is wrong to identify a rioter as a protester. It is misleading as to the person's actions and implies that they have a right to commit the crime.
Load More Replies...There is a big difference in placing these statues in museums and teaching people about the horrendous acts that they committed, and having their statues on honoured places in cities. You don't see statues of Adolf Hitler in Germany, yet no one has forgotten his historical significance
Load More Replies...