The Trump administration just installed a statue of Caesar Rodney at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. — a man who enslaved hundreds of people. The installation is part of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations, but there is nothing worth celebrating in honoring a slaveholder on public land in the nation's capital.

Rodney's statue was taken down in Wilmington, Delaware in 2020 following nationwide protests. It has been in storage ever since. Now the Trump administration has quietly brought it back — this time to the heart of Washington, D.C., surrounded by fencing and tarps so the public couldn't even see what was going up.

Freedom Plaza should honor freedom for everyone — not men who built their lives on the enslavement of other human beings. Recognizing Rodney's role in the Revolutionary War does not require giving him a statue on public land. History can be taught without being celebrated.

We're calling on the D.C. government and the National Park Service to remove Caesar Rodney's statue from Freedom Plaza immediately.

Photo: Delaware News Journal