Give them your mired in scandal, your problematic, your canceled statues yearning to stand free.
An Ohio town has proclaimed itself a “Statuary Sanctuary City,” offering to take on sculptures of famous figures in American history now being dismantled across the country.
City Manager David Lynch on Saturday issued a proclamation that Newton Falls population 4,795, about 20 miles west of Youngstown — would provide a home to statues no longer wanted in other towns, according to WFMJ.
The proclamation, posted by WFMJ, dubbed Newton Falls a “Statuary Sanctuary City … declaring a general amnesty for George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Patrick Henry, Francis Scott Key, Theodore Roosevelt and Christopher Columbus.”
Describing the group as “great leaders,” Lynch wrote that Newton Falls would “place them in a location of honor in our community.”
Amid the recent upheaval sparked by the police-custody death of George Floyd in Minnesota, historic statues have been torn down or otherwise vandalized across the US, prompting President Trump to vow a crackdown.
The subjects of the statues have ranged from Confederate leaders to the Founding Fathers listed by Lynch.
“Whereas the great leaders of our country and Western civilization, though flawed in many ways, have risen to great achievement, such as the founding of our nation, the ending of slavery … and the discovery of the New World itself,” wrote Lynch.
“Whereas these great leaders as represented by beautiful and artistic statuary throughout our nation deserve to stand in a place of honor and respect as a reminder that we as Americans can achieve great things.”