Students Want To Remove George Washington Statue At George Washington University

Yes, you read that headline right.

As ridiculous as it sounds it’s true.

The University of Washington’s Black Student Union has collected close to 8,000 signatures on a petition that demands the university to remove a statue of George Washington.

The school and the state were both named after George Washington but they want to get rid of  a statue of him.

The reason why the students want to take it down is because they claim it “perpetuates white supremacy” being Washington owned slaves.

Students demand removal of George Washington statue…at University of Washingtonhttps://t.co/g55C8yXw0g

— Campus Reform (@campusreform) February 19, 2021

Students demand removal of George Washington statue…at University of Washington – https://t.co/wyZPm1CSRB

— Jon Street (@JonStreet) February 20, 2021

Campus Reform covered the story and released these details:

The University of Washington’s Black Student Union has garnered nearly 8,000 signatures on a petition that demands the school remove a statue of George Washington, the school’s – and the state’s – namesake.

The petition claims the statue “perpetuates white supremacy and preserves its historical imposition,” because George Washington owned slaves.

The offending statue is part of the university’s history: It is the product of a years-long campaign by the Daughters of the American Revolution, which raised $6,000 by “encourag[ing] schoolchildren from all over the state to contribute their pennies, no more than five cents apiece.” The statue has stood on campus since 1909.

The petition also proposes cutting ties with the Seattle Police Department, disarming the university police, increasing funding for the American Ethnic Studies Department, and hiring more Black faculty members, among other policies.

UW's Black Student Union made seven demands of the university, including policing practices, diversity requirements and removing the George Washington statue. https://t.co/PZBZanx1Si

— Jan Wilson (@janbytheshore) February 16, 2021

The Daily UW got the scoop too:

Thirty-eight feet tall with his bronze body and concrete pedestal, George Washington stands broad-shouldered and stoic, his lifted chin facing west, overlooking the Olympic Mountains.

“Walking to class everyday and seeing this statue on Red Square — in [the] heart of campus — feels like an insult everyday,” recent UW graduate Edom Bogale said in a message.

Three weeks ago, a non-Black ally created a petition calling for the removal of the largest monument on the UW campus and its replacement with a Black Power fist. The petition has drawn over 3,000 signatures as of Monday and caught the attention of the Black Student Union (BSU) and UW Black Lives Matter chapter (UW BLM).

The university has yet to publicly respond to this petition and did not reply to emails for comment.

President Trump already warned this would happen years ago.