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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Protesters in New Orleans tore down a bust of a slave owner who left his wealth to build schools.
They then took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it into the water.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said on Twitter that the city “rejects vandalism and destruction of City property.”
The destruction Saturday is part of a nationwide effort to remove monuments to the Confederacy or with links to slavery. The bust was of John McDonogh.
In this frame grab from video posted on Twitter, protesters bring down a bust of slave owner John McDonogh, Saturday, June 13, 2020, at Duncan Plaza in New Orleans. The protesters then took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it into the water. The destruction is part of a nationwide effort to remove monuments to the Confederacy or with links to slavery as the country grapples with widespread protests against police brutality toward African Americans. (Twitter via AP) 
The word “racist” is scrawled in red under the name of John McDonogh on a pedestal in Duncan Plaza in New Orleans, Saturday, June 13, 2020. Demonstrators pulled down the bust of McDonogh, a slave owner who left his wealth to build schools, and took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it into the water. (AP Photo/Rebecca Santana) 
The pedestal is left after protesters removed a bust of John McDonogh, Saturday, June 13, 2020, in Duncan Plaza in New Orleans. Demonstrators pulled down the bust of McDonogh, a slave owner who left his wealth to build schools, took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it into the water. (AP Photo/Rebecca Santana)
Upon his death, McDonogh left a large portion of his money to New Orleans and Baltimore for schools, and many schools in New Orleans are named after him.
