Vandals Desecrate Monuments Honoring Blacks

By BlackMansStreet.Today | Special to the Trice Edney News Wire A vandal was arrested for desecrating Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia. (TriceEdneyWire.com) – The recent vandalism of a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black luminaries involved in the civil rights movement, is part of of nationwide pattern of destroying monuments that honor Black leaders. A Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Denver, Colorado’s City Park was found damaged Wednesday morning after a gaping hole was cut out of the bronze plaque affixed to the statue. The memorial is one of several Black monuments recently reported stolen or vandalized in the United States. One of the largest targets is the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Carson-Compton, California. More than 100 bronze nameplates and a 1944 bronze plaque honoring African American veterans were stolen from the cemeteries. Police have not arrested anyone. In February, Ricky Alderete,45, was arrested by Wichita Police for allegedly stealing Jackie Robinson’s statue and planning to sell it as scrap metal. Police took Alderete into custody, and he is being held on a $150,000 bond. Robinson’s statue was stolen from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas. On January 25, police received reports that the...