Unic Press UK: The statue of Winston Churchill situated in Westminster has been boarded up as the authorities try to protect it from defacement or destruction as anti-racism protests continue to rage after the death 25 May in police custody of a black American known as George Floyd.
The statue of Churchill was earlier defaced by protesters a few days ago, and there are fears that, if left unprotected during further protests, the statue could be destroyed same way that of a 17th century slave trader, Edward Colston, was torn down in Bristol on Sunday.
Reacting on Twitter, the UK Prime Minister said: “The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country.”
The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country – and the whole of Europe – from a fascist and racist tyranny. 1/8
— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 12, 2020
“It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protesters,” Johnson added.
In the U.S., the protesters are also mounting pressures on the United States authorities to remove monuments/memorials connected to racism/colonialism/slavery, and have already torn down many Confederate monuments/imagery, such as, those of the Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia; Christopher Columbus in Byrd Park; a bronze statue known as Silent Sam monument at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and a statue of Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park.
