A bronze monument depicting Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, situated in front of New York City’s American Museum of Natural History will be relocated over claims that the statue symbolizes colonialism.
On Monday, The New York City Public Design Commission unanimously approved a measure to relocate the statue, which depicts Roosevelt on horseback, flanked by a Native American and black man on foot, to an institution celebrating Roosevelt’s legacy.
The vote was first reported by the New York Times.
The monument has been in place since 1940.
The development comes as dozens of statues depicting historic Americans have been removed across the country following protests and riots over the death of Georgie Floyd.
In June 2020, museum officials proposed removing the statue. The museum is on city-owned property and Mayor Bill de Blasio supported the removal of the “problematic statue.”
Museum officials said they were pleased with the commission’s vote in a prepared statement emailed Wednesday and thanked the city.
Sam Biederman of the New York City Parks Department said at the meeting Monday that although the statue “was not erected with malice of intent,” its composition “supports a thematic framework of colonization and racism,” according to The Times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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