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Pan American experiences
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Statue of Christopher Columbus, Newark (removed) When the myth falls, history begins to tell the truth. By Kenneth C. Zirkel/commons.wikimedia.
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A Lost History Tour: Revisiting the Removed Monuments and Post-Trump Cultural Spaces in the U.S.How the Destruction of Cultural Monuments Since Trump Have Opened Wounds and Threatened National MemoryBy Estefanía Muriel for Ruta Pantera on 1/30/2026 1:20:55 PM |
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| From a painted plaza in the U.S. capital to panels in European cemeteries, the United States is undergoing an unintentional, anti-revisionist historical shift: a process of removing, reconfiguring, and, in some cases, reinstalling monuments and exhibits that for decades have defined how public history is remembered. What did each of these places and their monuments signify? What happens when the physical traces of our past are erased? And looking at it from Latin America, how does this debate help us rethink our own histories and symbols?
Landscapes of Memory: From Murals to Exhibitions In the heart of Washington, D.C., an iconic mural bearing the words “Black Lives Matter,” painted on the street across from the White House as a symbol of the racial justice movement, was removed in 2025 following pressure from a Republican-controlled Congress that conditioned federal funding to the city. The mural, which had served not only as a visual work but also as a community gathering place, was repainted and the plaza renamed amid political tensions reflecting a nation divided over how to interpret its own social fractures. This act is not isolated. In January 2026, the U.S. National Park Service removed an exhibit about American slavery from the President's House Historic Site in Philadelphia, where George Washington lived. The exhibit detailed the lives of enslaved people in that home, and its removal has been criticized as an attempt to whitewash a painful but fundamental aspect of national history. |
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Independence National Historic Park (Philadelphia) Freedom was proclaimed here, but not for everyone. Photo by Lavdrim Mustafi/Pexels. |
Thousands of miles away, at the American Cemetery in Margraten, in the Netherlands, two panels honoring American soldiers from World War II were also removed at the end of 2025, causing sadness among visitors and families who considered those texts crucial to understanding the duality of fighting for freedom abroad while facing discrimination at home.
Controversial Monuments That Disappeared Beyond interpretive displays, numerous statues and physical monuments have been removed or toppled in recent years, both due to protests and local and national government decisions. These pieces—ranging from Confederate figures to European explorers—not only occupied public spaces but also represented specific historical narratives. The statue of Christopher Columbus in Newark, New Jersey, erected in 1927 as a tribute to Italian heritage, was removed in 2020 during protests and its pedestal was finally demolished in 2022 to make way for a commemoration of Harriet Tubman, thus marking a deliberate change of symbolism in the public space. In Richmond, Virginia, the statue of JEB Stuart, a Confederate general, was removed in 2020 following intense public demands to confront the racist legacy of the Civil War. While not directly a Trump-era action, this removal is part of the contemporary context of historical re-evaluation that continues to resonate today. Another statue, that of Frank Rizzo in Philadelphia, erected in 1998 and removed in June 2020, symbolized for many residents a racist police authority and was dismantled amid protests demanding racial justice and social change, connecting with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Eliminating Narratives: Conflicts and Consequences These acts are not merely physical: they reflect deep-seated struggles over identity, memory, and power. When a monument or exhibit is removed, the question arises: who tells the story, and for what purpose? For critics like historian James Grossman, quoted in Time regarding other removals of racist symbols, “ I think many of us now realize that the removal of statues, while an important symbolic act, is merely a symbolic act” in a society that addresses underlying inequalities. For others, the removal of monuments and exhibits, especially those that highlight suffering or racism, is a way to erase evidence of injustice and rewrite history to fit a more convenient narrative. The removal of panels honoring African American soldiers in Europe was condemned by families and local communities as an act that denies the complexity of the African American contribution to global history. At the same time, there are efforts to restore or reinstate removed monuments, such as executive orders that seek to reverse what are called “divisive narratives” and return Confederate figures or European explorers like Christopher Columbus to the public sphere. These initiatives fuel an intense debate about historical reconciliation versus historical revanchism. Beyond Marble and Bronze From California to Philadelphia, from Washington to European cemeteries, the toppling or removal of monuments in the US reminds us that collective memory is always alive and contested. Statues and exhibits don't just represent past events; they reflect how a society chooses to understand itself, which stories it celebrates and which it conceals. For Latin America, where debates about colonial figures, dictators, and official narratives are also at the forefront of many social movements, there is a clear lesson: historical memory should not be a battleground where only one version has a voice. Rather, collective constructions of history that include a diversity of experiences can form a more inclusive foundation for the future. It is not simply a matter of removing or erecting monuments, but of creating spaces—physical, educational, and cultural—that foster understanding, dialogue, and reparation. |
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| Frank Rizzo, Philadelphia. For some, order; for others, the face of abuse. By Zenos Frudakis/commons.wikimedia. | Black Lives Matter Plaza (Washington, DC) A street that cried out for justice when power remained silent. By Ted Eytan/commons.wikimedia. | JEB Stuart (Richmond) Bronze glorified a cause that time no longer justifies. By Hal Jespersen/commons.wikimedia. | ||
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References: Associated Press. (2025, December 30). Removal of panels honoring Black American soldiers at US cemetery in the Netherlands sparks backlash . APNews. https://apnews.com/article/netherlands-american-cemetery-black-liberators-trump-06d7a64d11a29736e999664054d29419 El Español. (2025, March 11). Washington erases iconic Black Lives Matter mural due to pressure from the Republican Party . https://www.elespanol.com/mundo/america/eeuu/20250311/washington-borra-iconico-mural-denbspblack-lives-matter-chantaje-partido-republicano-recortar-fondos/930157555_0.html Reuters. (2026, January 23). US National Park Service removes slavery exhibit in Philadelphia . https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-national-park-service-removes-slavery-exhibit-philadelphia-2026-01-23 The New York Times. (2025, March 16). Trump and the erasure of Black Lives Matter symbols . https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/us/black-lives-matter-trump.html Time. (2021, September 8). Why Richmond's Robert E. Lee statue mattered so much . https://time.com/6096224/richmond-robert-e-lee-statue/ Voz Media. (2025, March 31). Trump signs executive order to restore statues removed after Black Lives Matter protests . https://voz.us/es/politica/250331/22869/trump-firma-orden-ejecutiva-restaurar-estatuas-retiradas-protestas-black-lives-matter-restaurar-verdad-estados-unidos.html Washington Post. (2025, November 13). Panels honoring Black US soldiers removed from American cemetery in the Netherlands . https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/11/13/black-soldiers-netherlands-cemetery Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Black Lives Matter Plaza . Wikipedia. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter_Plaza Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). JEB Stuart Monument . Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._E._B._Stuart_Monument Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Statue of Christopher Columbus (Newark, New Jersey) . Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Christopher_Columbus_%28Newark%2C_New_Jersey%29 Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Statue of Frank Rizzo . Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Frank_Rizzo Yahoo News. (2025). Trump child abuse allegations disappear from public records . https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-child-abuse-allegations-disappear-205234132.html |
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