Demonstrators Rally to Demand Removal of Albert Pike Statue in D.C. (video & photos)

Over 100 activists attended a rally for the removal of a statue of Albert Pike (1809-1891) in late afternoon on Friday, August 18 in Washington D.C. The statue of Pike, erected in 1901, is the only outdoor sculpture in the District honoring a Confederate general, though Pike is depicted here as a civilian, not a soldier.

The rally to remove the statue came in the wake of racially motivated violence in Charlottesville Va., just days earlier, over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which renewed interest in many cities and states to remove other Confederate statues and memorials from public land.

The eleven-foot bronze statue by Italian sculptor Gaetano Trentaove stands at 3rd and D Streets NW, near the Judiciary Square section of the city on a patch of federal property between the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Department of Labor. The statue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 20, 1978

Eight D.C. elected officials have already petitioned the National Park Service for the statue’s removal. D.C. shadow congressperson Franklin Garcia was among those who spoke at Friday’s rally.

(Video & still photography by Jeff Malet)