Early on Thursday morning, the police in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., found a cast iron and zinc statue torn down from its stone pedestal in Congress Park and scattered in pieces on the grass. The statue is one of dozens that have been torn down across the United States in recent weeks amid widespread protests against racism and police brutality. But the statue that stood in Congress Park was dedicated to volunteers who fought for the Union during the Civil War. In the days since it was destroyed, residents of Saratoga Springs, a mostly white college town about 30 miles north of Albany, have been calling the mayor’s office and posting on social media to express outrage and disappointment. “The statue was memorializing those who fought against the Confederacy and against slavery, so I think Saratogans were very proud that we had that in our park,” said David Snyder, executive assistant to Meg Kelly, the mayor of Saratoga Springs.

Source: New York Times July 18, 2020 10:52 UTC