Statues of Christopher Columbus vandalised across US during Black Lives Matter protest

Several statues of explorer Christopher Columbus have been vandalised across the US. In a recent incident, a statue of Christopher Columbus was desecrated in Houston, Texas on Thursday.

The statue was located in Bell Park in the Museum District in Houston. The face and hands of the statue of Christopher Columbus were painted red in colour and a sign that read "Rip the head from your oppressor" taped on it.

"It's kinda nice to think about who we glorify and what we glorify," said a resident of the nearby area, Lauren Tyndall. " I feel like he's the one that kinda sparked everything that is America now," a US news website reported him saying.

Statues of many Confederate leaders demolished too

This was of many more statues of Confederate leaders that were vandalized across the US amid widespread protest against racial injustice and police brutality against African American.

Earlier a statue of Christopher Columbus was torn down, set on fire and was then thrown in the lake in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday.

The spree has so far seen statues of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, sailor Charles Linn, besides of Christopher Columbus been toppled by demonstrators across the US.

For two weeks now, people across the 50 states are protesting after an African American George Floyd died under police custody when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for over 9 minutes leading to his death.

The ongoing protests in the US have intensified the demands to remove statues of Confederate leaders who supported slavery and racism.

Native Americans say Columbus spurred genocide

Though many people rever and celebrate Christopher Columbus in the US, and school textbooks credit him with discovering the "New World", the US, in 15th Century, Native Americas have long objected to honouring him. They say that his expedition spurred centuries of institutional genocide against indigenous people.

Many cities councils and organisations have also taken steps to remove Confederate symbols. For example, Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam announced that the statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee would be removed from Richmond.

However, it couldn't be carried on after a judge temporary stalled its removal.

NASCAR announces banning Confederate flags

Auto racing car organisers NASCAR has also announced of banning the use of Confederate flags from its races and properties, a thing which has been a familiar sight at its races over its 72-year history.

Donald Trumps rejects calls for renaming military bases

There has also been a demand to rename the military bases named after Confederate leaders who supported racism. However, President Donald Trump has rejected any call to rename or temper any military installations.

He tweeted: "The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations..."

Rather, escalating pressure on Mayor of Seattle to take control of the situation in the city where protestors, whom he called anarchist and domestic terrorist, are occupying public spaces, he threatened to intervene if the Mayor failed to do so.

Mayor Jenny Durkan responded to Mr Trump with her own tweet, in which she said, "Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker."

Reports of similar protests happening around the world demanding the removal of leaders who supported racism have been recorded. Recently, a statue of Robert Milligan, an 18th-century slave trader, was removed from outside a London Museum after an anti-racism protest in the capital city.

Britain had been an imperial state with both the US and India, amongst others, being its colonies for long.