, Columnist
As Monuments to Racism Fall, Trump’s Culture War Falters
What battered protesters and dismantled statues say about U.S. politics.
Soon to come down in Richmond.
Photographer: Zach Gibson/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
If you want to know who’s winning the battle being waged on the streets of America, look at who’s being beaten up. It’s not just peaceful protesters, though many police officers across the country — perhaps taking their cue from the June 1 assault in Lafayette Square across from the White House — are having a wilding time of it.
Statues are getting roughed up, too, and their travails may be even more telling. Because while it takes but an instant to crack the head of a protester of racism, it can take a century or more to bring down a monument to racism. Yet they are coming down.