Protesters in Portland, Oregon, demolished a monument to the first US president (1789-1797), George Washington, at night.
The bronze monument was erected near the building of the German-American Society, a non-profit organization. The vandals first threw the U.S. flag on the statue, and then set it on fire. Then they overturned the monument, doused it with red paint and left the inscription “1619” on it. It is believed that the first African slaves arrived in the United States this year.
This is at least the fourth damaged monument in the state in the last week: June 13, two sculptures were demolished in honor of the first settlers from England, installed on the campus of the University of Oregon, and June 14 – a monument to the third president of the United States (1801-1809) Thomas Jefferson in Portland.
George Washington is one of the founding fathers of the United States. During the War of Independence, he led the Continental Army, later was elected Chairman of the Constitutional Convention, which developed the Constitution of the United States in 1787. In recent years, a number of black rights activists have criticized Washington for being the first president of the country as a slaveholder.