2020.06.18 George Washington, Portland, Oregon USA
The George Washington statue in Portland, Oregon by Italian-American artist Pompeo Coppini was dedicated in 1926 and erected in 1927 in the northeast part of the city. It was put up to honor the sesquicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On June 18, 2020, on the eve of Juneteenth and in the midst of nightly protests of police brutality and racism, protestors pulled down the Washington statue. On June 18, 2020, on the eve of Juneteenth and in the midst of nightly protests of police brutality and racism, protestors pulled down the Washington statue.
Protestors draped the statue in a burning American flag before toppling it. A Thomas Jefferson statue had already been pulled down by protestors a few days before, making the toppling of the Washington statue the second slave-holder statue to fall in Portland in the span of a week. Portland’s transportation bureau towed the 1,920-pound statue on Juneteenth.