Crews Remove John C. Calhoun Statue From Pedestal in Charleston, South Carolina
Crews brought down a statue of John C. Calhoun, seventh vice president of the United States and supporter of slavery, from its pedestal overlooking Charleston’s Marion Square on June 24.
Footage of the statue’s removal shows crews lifting the statue from its 115-foot perch and bringing it to ground level, amid cheers from onlookers.
The statue of John C. Calhoun overlooked Charleston’s Marion Square for nearly 124 years. Crews spent over 17 hours taking down the statue, working throughout the night.
Upon its removal, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg told The Post and Courier: “There’s a sense of relief for the generations of Charlestonians who had these personal stories about the impact of Mr. Calhoun being here and being in such a supposed place of honor over our city. The intellectual underpinnings of slavery and white supremacy came from this man. So it’s a relief to get him down safely and know we’ll keep him in place where his stories can be told in the right context.” Credit: Tim Ryan Renaud via Storyful
