The Post & Email by Allan Wall 4/22/2023
California’s Third Most Populous City Taking Down Statue of Man Who Claimed City for the United States. Are They Saying the City Shouldn’t Be Part of the United States?
Some who support the removal of Confederate statues say the Confederates were traitors and/or losers.
But now in San Jose, California, they are taking down the statue of a man who fought for the United States, on the winning side.
From San Jose Spotlight:
After two years, work has finally started on removing a controversial San Jose monument. On Tuesday [April 18], construction workers started jackhammering the three-foot concrete pedestal of the Thomas Fallon statue, crumbling concrete and sending dust flying. The statue, located at the intersection of St. James and Julian streets, has caused public uproar for more than three decades.
[San Jose Fallon statue is heading to storage, by Lorraine Gabbert, San Jose Spotlight, April 20, 2023]
San Jose, by the way, is in the Bay Area and is the third most populous city in California.
Carlos Velazquez, spokesperson for the San Jose Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, said his office is honoring its commitment to remove the statue by May 4, barring any further weather delays. “We’re following through with the community’s desires,” he told San José Spotlight.
So why are they taking it down?
Commissioned in 1988 by former Mayor Tom McEnery, the statue of Fallon on horseback—raising the American flag in San Jose after Congress declared war on Mexico in 1846—has been considered condescending to Indigenous and Latino communities.
California is part of the United States as a result of the Mexican War, fought from 1846 to 1848. For more information, see my article on the topic: On Guadalupe Hidalgo Day, Here’s Why The U.S. Has Title To The Southwest.
So what are these people saying – that California should not be part of the United States?
Charlene Nijmeh, tribal chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, said it’s fantastic to see the city take action.
More:
https://www.thepostemail.com/2023/04/22/californias-third-most-populous-city-taking-down-statue-of-man-who-claimed-city-for-the-united-states-are-they-saying-the-city-shouldnt-be-part-of-the-united-states/
