Crews Begin Removing John C. Calhoun Statue In South Carolina (Source npr.org)

Crowds gathered early Wednesday in Charleston, S.C., as crews began preparing to remove the statue of former Vice President John C. Calhoun from Marion Square. The removal comes less than 24 hours after the Charleston City Council’s unanimous vote on the statue’s fate. Calhoun’s statue is the latest in a wave of removals throughout the nation following protests for racial justice sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The Charleston Police Department announced just before midnight that Calhoun Street between Meeting Street and King Street would be closed for several hours for the statue’s removal. A special panel of historians will determine the statue’s new home. The mayor said he wanted the statue to be preserved at a museum or educational institution, where it could be displayed in its full historical context. “We are taking this action only after careful consideration of the facts of Mr. Calhoun’s life,” Tecklenburg said. He called Calhoun both “South Carolina’s most prominent national statesman” and “its most consequential defender of slavery and white supremacy.”