2020.06.19. Memorial to confederate soldiers & sailors

Two statues that sat on the larger structure of the monument were toppled by protestors on Juneteenth. They were dragged through the streets. One was hung from a lamppost and the other was later carried away by police on a golf cart. On June 20, 2020 the rest of the monument was removed by the city.

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Toppled, Defaced, United States of America, 2020 Natalia Gimson Toppled, Defaced, United States of America, 2020 Natalia Gimson

2020.10.12 The Soldiers Monument Obelisk

On 2020.10.12 at the conclusion of a three-day occupation of Santa Fe Plaza, activists ultimately toppled the obelisk after defacing it with red handprints and spray-painted messages. Several arrests by police were made in the aftermath of the toppling. The City of Santa Fe has convened multiple times to decide whether to replace the monument with a different monument, a public art commission, or leave the Plaza empty. Organizers from CHART (Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, Truth) are actively discussing with community members how to proceed.

The memorial was first defaced in 1974 by an anonymous activist who chiseled off the word “savage” describing local “Indians.”

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