Vandals desecrate monuments honoring Blacks
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Special to the Trice
Edney News Wire from
BlackMansStreet.Today
The recent vandalism of a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black luminaries involved in the civil rights movement, is part of a nationwide pattern of destroying monuments that honor Black leaders.
A statue that honors King in Denver, Colorado’s City Park was found damaged a week ago, with a gaping hole cut out of the bronze plaque affixed to the statue.
The memorial is one of several Black monuments recently reported stolen or vandalized in the United States. One of the largest targets is the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Carson-Compton, California.
More than 100 bronze nameplates and a 1944 bronze plaque honoring African American veterans were stolen from the cemeteries. Police have not arrested anyone.
In February, Ricky Alderete, 45, was arrested by Wichita Police for allegedly stealing Jackie Robinson’s statue and planning to sell it as scrap metal. Police took Alderete into custody, and he is being held on a $150,000 bond.
Robinson’s statue was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. On Jan. 25, police received reports that the statue was cut off at the ankles. Days later, the statue was found burning in a trash can.
Alderete was charged with four counts, including felony theft and aggravated criminal damage to property, according to police.
Also in February, Laneisha Shantrice Henderson was arrested for attempting to burn down King’s childhood home in Atlanta.
Henderson poured gasoline over the home’s front porch and accent bushes before being stopped and detained by two off-duty New York police officers who were visiting the home as tourists.
“That action saved an important part of American history tonight,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. Henderson was arrested by police officers and charged with attempted arson.
Black churches are not immune to vandalism either.
Mother Bethel African Methosit Church, a Black Philadelphia church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, recently had several windows broken, including three of the church’s historic stained-glass windows.
Philadephia police arrested Haneef Cooper, 39. He was charged with criminal mischief for vandalizing Mother Bethel in the Society Hill neighborhood.
Pastor Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler estimated the damage at $30,000 because of the specialized craftsmanship needed to repair the historic stained glass.
Ed Dwight created the memorial in Colorado in 2002, honoring King and smaller statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass. The statue stands where the annual parade begins every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Denver police department’s bias-motivated crime unit is investigating.
