During this tumultuous time in American history, where race and justice appear headed for an inevitable reckoning perhaps within weeks, there is plenty of action to be had on the ground.
Protesters, demonstrators, agitators, and provocateurs came together to create a perfect storm of action, with many egging one another on until change and/or chaos ensues.
In the midst of all of this, and in an effort to make a truly symbolic statement, many are dragging statues of allegedly offensive figures from their pedestals, knowing fully well that the news cameras would be affixed to the spectacle.
The first wave saw Confederate generals and presidents hit the concrete. Then, soon after, they came for Columbus, and then George Washington.
Now, even Union generals from the American Civil War are coming down.
Protesters in San Francisco on Friday toppled the statue of former President Grant, who led the Union Army during the Civil War, in Golden Gate Park.
San Francisco police said that approximately 400 people gathered around 8 p.m. to take down the statue, though no arrests were made, according to NBC Bay Area.
Also torn down in the park on Friday were the statues of St. Junipero Serra and Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Why Grant, who fought against the Confederacy?
While Grant is widely celebrated as being one of the leading forces who helped the Union win the Civil War, bringing an end to slavery in the U.S., some historians have pointed to his complicated relationship with slavery.
“Grant did in fact own a man named William Jones for about a year on the eve of the Civil War,” Sean Kane, interpretations and programs specialist at the American Civil War Museum, said in an article. “In 1859, Grant either bought or was given the 35-year-old Jones, who was in Grant’s service until he freed him before the start of the War.”
As for the man who penned our National Anthem, he once argued in court in an attempt to keep slaves that he once owned.
