JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – “Slave Owner” was scrawled in red paint across a statue of Andrew Jackson in Jacksonville on Monday, following a nationwide trend defacing monuments and statues with ties to slavery in the wake of racial protests.
The prominent statue is located in the center of a busy traffic circle. Media reports say Jacksonville was named after Jackson, the seventh president of the U.S. and an American military figure who led several campaigns against the Seminole Indians in Florida.
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Critics have said his legacy related to Native Americans were part of an ugly chapter in American history.
The act comes as cities across the country are reconsidering long-held policies, practices, venue names and statues tied to slavery after the death of George Floyd.
The statue was also vandalized twice in 2015 when someone spray-painted “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice for D,” a reference to D’Angelo Stallworth, who was shot and killed by officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
A fake Native American head was also placed on the monument at one point.