×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Thursday
15
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 12°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Could the racist past of Mt. Rushmore’s creator bring down the monument?

Things are taking a turn to the surreal...

Newsroom July 3 04:12

Confederate President Jefferson Davis has been toppled from the most iconic street in Richmond, Va., and his neighbor, rebel Gen. Robert E. Lee, may soon follow. A U.S. vice president and ardent slavery defender, John C. Calhoun, was plucked from his 115-foot perch in the center of Charleston, S.C. And President Theodore Roosevelt may soon disappear from the steps of New York City’s American Museum of Natural History.

Is there any monument in the United States that’s too big to fail a racial history test? A piece of public art with a connection to our checkered past that is too important, too monumental, to be removed from the face of America? Could Mt. Rushmore be that ultimate test?

We could soon find out. President Trump is planning to spend Friday watching the fireworks — and, no doubt, lobbing a few verbal ones — in the Black Hills of South Dakota. His visit will likely remind Americans that Rushmore’s presidential problem is as plain as the nose on George Washington’s face. Washington (owner of 123 slaves) and Thomas Jefferson (who enslaved more than 600 humans throughout his life) are only the beginning. Roosevelt’s mixed legacy — the Smithsonian flat-out calls him a “racist” even while noting he invited Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House — adds another pockmark on those faces of history.

See Also:

>Related articles

Ballistic missile strike hits pier in Ukraine

The ordeal of a 28-year-old Greek man in Australia: He went on holiday to visit relatives, was injured at a beach, and is at risk of quadriplegia

FBI searches the home of a Washington Post journalist who covered the Trump administration’s firing of federal employees

PM Mitsotakis announces €3.5 billion support measures for economy

Yet Mt. Rushmore’s hold on history is threatened by elements that go beyond the question of whether its subjects merit memorializing. Even before the first chip of rock had been hewn from the mountainside, Native Americans objected that the carving was on land they considered both sacred and stolen. Less controversial at the time was the past of Rushmore’s creator, an enigmatic Danish American named Gutzon Borglum. By the early 1900s Borglum was a celebrated sculptor, especially of Lincoln statues. He was also an avowed racist.

Read more: The Los Angeles Times

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#Black Lives Matter#extreme left#ideology#left#Liberals#Mt. Rushmore#neo-liberals#politics#usa#wing#world
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

“You think you are descendants of Plato and Aristotle, but you’re not” – Rama’s tirade against Greek journalist, watch video

January 15, 2026

“Aunt Pecu,” who lived outside all protocol: Who the unconventional and eccentric princess Irene was

January 15, 2026

High-tech fraud – SMS blaster attack: Bank data stolen using special equipment installed in a car’s trunk

January 15, 2026

Ballistic missile strike hits pier in Ukraine

January 15, 2026

Ursula von der Leyen from the Green Line: Pushing for a solution to the Cyprus issue is a priority

January 15, 2026

The ordeal of a 28-year-old Greek man in Australia: He went on holiday to visit relatives, was injured at a beach, and is at risk of quadriplegia

January 15, 2026

Princess Irene dies at the age of 83

January 15, 2026

Scientists uncover why the moon has a “two-faced” nature

January 15, 2026
All News

> Economy

Tourism: Greece, Athens, and Attica lead with over 4.75 billion euros in revenue by 2019—Doubling previous figures

The latest data from the studies of INSETE give the picture in the 13 regions of the country

January 15, 2026

Oil prices fall 3% after Trump’s statements on Iran

January 15, 2026

Pierrakakis: The new 10-year bond record is the most convincing answer to those who question the value of the investment grade

January 14, 2026

UBS: Greek banks in the spotlight – Piraeus Bank portfolio top pick

January 14, 2026

Austrian press on the Greek bond: Investors are now queuing up in Athens

January 14, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα