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George Rogers Clark Statue Vandalized In Downtown Louisville

The statue of George Rogers Clark at the Riverfront Plaza in downtown Louisville was vandalized overnight Sunday.

The vandalism is the latest in which statues have been covered in paint as a form of protest. Spray painted beneath Clark’s feet, was a message, “Stop White Washing Black History.”

Clark was a Revolutionary War commander who fought the British and led major expeditions that destroyed native Shawnee communities.

In the years following the Revolutionary War, Clark served as chairman on a board of commissioners that allotted lands along the river in Southern Indiana to the men who had participated in his campaigns.

Clark’s statue was splashed in bright orange paint similar to shades used to vandalize other statues in the city include the George Prentice Statue and the John Breckenridge Castleman statue.

Crews removed Castleman’s statue this summer after years of vandalism and debate over his history of service in the Confederate Army.

In early September, city crews removed a statue of King Louis the XVI from downtown Louisville after it had been spray painted and lost a hand amid racial justice protests.

Nearby Clark's statue, a banner was hung over Interstate 64 reading quote “LMPD will kill again. Rise up.”

Ryan Van Velzer is the Kentucky Public Radio Managing Editor. Email Ryan at rvanvelzer@lpm.org.

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