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A Washington, D.C., tour guide argued against protesters' intents to remove the Capitol Hill Emancipation Memorial during a rally that took place recently, amid a nationwide push to tear down slavery-era statues and symbols.
The guide is seen addressing a crowd gathered near the statue at D.C.'s Lincoln Park in a YouTube video shared Friday.
Carrying a sign that advertises Capital Buddy Tours (the URL dcblacktours.com leads to the touring company's website), the guide uses a megaphone to argue for the memorial statue's continued presence in the park. He insinuates that those who support its removal are not aware of the structure's history, though members of the crowd can be heard refuting that suggestion in the video.
Another clip shared to Twitter showed a subsequent disagreement between the tour guide and a protester who asked why he chose to protect the statue's history.
Activists at Lincoln Park were attending an event hosted by the Freedom Neighborhood, a youth-led organization "focused on the social, political, and economic liberation of all people," according to its social media description.
Harvard University student Glenn Foster founded the group. In additional footage of Friday's rally, shared to Twitter by an ABC7 reporter, Foster called for the Emancipation Memorial's removal as he and the rally's participants pledged to "tear it down."
Freedom Neighborhood activists initially voiced intent to tear down the statue on Tuesday. In comments to Newsweek the following day, a Freedom Neighborhood spokesperson articulated the organization's opposition to the memorial structure and what it represents.
"Our history has told us that Black people paid for this statue when that was not the case. Black people had no say in both the design and the message, which is what we are fighting for. This statue represents the people once again not having a say in how we want our freedom and liberation to happen. But that ends on Thursday," the spokesperson said.
Newsweek reached out to the Freedom Neighborhood and Capital Buddy Tours for comments, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Protesters organized demonstrations at the Emancipation Memorial site throughout last week, The Washington Post reported. The statue, built in 1876, depicts Abraham Lincoln standing over a male slave with a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Numerous critics have pointed out the structure's inherently racist imagery in arguing for its removal, in addition to the fact that its construction was funded by people who were formerly enslaved.
The memorial remained standing as of early Saturday afternoon.
