Downtown Jacksonville’s Andrew Jackson statue was vandalized twice last week.
As First Coast Connect host Melissa Ross reports, the statue is the latest of several monuments across the South to be tagged with the words “Black Lives Matter.”
Someone tagged the base of the statue Sunday with the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice 4 D” before it was scrubbed off.
Earlier in the week someone also put a fake Native American head on the statue.
Jackson was the president who signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 into law, leading to thousands of natives leaving their ancestral lands for reservations west of the Mississippi River.
“Justice 4 D” seems to represent the case of Jacksonville man D’Angelo Stallworth, killed in a recent police involved shooting.
Meanwhile Jackson’s controversial legacy has made it difficult for historians to educate the public about his influence.
We spoke with Emily Lisska of the Jacksonville Historical Society.
“I’ve had a tough time getting the story of Jackson out. I’ve written grants to present exhibits of the story of Jackson, the good, the bad and the ugly, and have had a tough time getting funders.”
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