COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Officials in historic Charleston, South Carolina, say they plan to remove a statue of slavery advocate John C. Calhoun from a downtown square. Mayor John Tecklenburg announced the plans during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. The statue has come under scrutiny amid a wave of pulled-down statues and the removal of names of historical figures who repressed or oppressed other people. The news of plans to remove it comes on the fifth anniversary of the slaying of eight black church members and their pastor in Dylann Roof’s racist attack at a downtown Charleston church.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Paint and protest graffiti covers the Jefferson Davis Memorial in Richmond, Va., Sunday, June 7, 2020, following a week of unrest in the U.S. against police brutality and racism in policing. Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Posted at 1:12 AM, Jun 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-17 19:20:13-04
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.