Trump Re-Erects Monument of Enslaver Removed in 2020
A statue of Caesar Rodney—an enslaver who signed the Declaration of Independence and enslaved at least 200 people—was installed at Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza on Friday, May 22, as part of a group of sculptures tied to Donald Trump’s “Freedom 250” program. The equestrian monument, made by artist James Edward Kelly, had been removed by Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2020 amid Black Lives Matter protests. The Rodney statue now stands near an existing bronze monument to Revolutionary War general Casimir Pulaski, and the Department of the Interior told Hyperallergic that the other 11 sculptures depict Revolutionary War soldiers. National Park Service signage indicated planned closures from December 29, 2025, through May 15, 2026, and the article notes the reinstallation aligns with Trump administration efforts ahead of the US 250th anniversary, including a prior October 2020 proclamation praising Rodney and plans for a “National Garden of American Heroes.”
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This story was covered in AI Art Wars and Museum Reckonings