Philly officials after Charlottesville: Take down Rizzo memorials now

[TexasTowelie]

As Philadelphians watched in horror as protests over the planned removal of a statue memorializing Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., turned to deadly violence, a number of them had the same thought.

Link to tweet

Helen Gym‏Verified account @HelenGymAtLarge

All around the country, we're fighting to remove the monuments to slavery & racism. Philly, we have work to do. Take the Rizzo statue down.
4:05 PM - 14 Aug 2017

They turned their attention to Center City’s own Thomas Paine Plaza, and its statue of Frank Rizzo, the former law-and-order mayor and police commissioner known for tough, even brutal, tactics aimed at minorities including African Americans and homosexuals.

Now, City Councilwoman Helen Gym is calling for the Rizzo statue’s retirement. She told the Inquirer she intends to initiate a public process as soon as Council comes back to session in September to explore whether the statue should be relocated or decommissioned entirely. She said it’s not clear yet how that process would unfold.

“These very real issues — these wounds of racism that exist — we have to confront those,” Gym said. “The question really is whether the statue belongs in the center of our city.”

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/frank-rizzo-memorials-helen-gym-statue-take-down-mural-tweet-charlottesville-20170815.html