US founding father and slave owner: New York City Council removes Jefferson statue

US founding father and slave owner: New York City Council removes Jefferson statue AFP 21 hrs ago | The New York City Council has voted to remove a statue of US founding father Thomas Jefferson from its meeting hall. A City Council committee voted unanimously in favour of the move on Monday (local time) because the third president of the United States and co-author of the Declaration of Independence owned more than 600 slaves. The New York City Council has voted to remove a statue of US founding father Thomas Jefferson from its meeting hall. The third president of the United States and co-author of the Declaration of Independence owned more than 600 slaves.© Kevin Dietsch The New York City Council has voted to remove a statue of US founding father Thomas Jefferson from its meeting hall. The third president of the United States and co-author of the Declaration of Independence owned more than 600 slaves. The removal of the statue had been called for years by black and Latino city councillors, and it could now be displayed in a room at the New York Historical Society. Jefferson represents "some of the most shameful pages in our country's long and diverse history", said African-American city councillor Adrienne Adams. Jefferson had six children with one of his slave girls. The controversy over the statue in the City Council building had recently flared up again in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests against racism and violence against black people. The protests were triggered by the death of African-American George Floyd in a brutal police operation in May 2020. fwe/ju