Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said the statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the county’s legislative building, also named after the former U.S. president, will remain at its location.
“President Theodore Roosevelt was a son of Nassau County whose boldness of vision and significant accomplishments still set the standard for great American leadership,” Curran said in a statement. “There will be no change to the name of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, and the statue erected in his honor will stay right where it is.”
Curran made the announcement on Monday, a day after the American Museum of Natural History in New York City said a statue of Roosevelt on horseback and flanked by a Native American and African man would be removed.
“To understand the statue, we must recognize our country’s enduring legacy of racial discrimination — as well as Roosevelt’s troubling views on race,” according to a statement from the museum. “We must also acknowledge the Museum’s own imperfect history. Such an effort does not excuse the past but it can create a foundation for honest, respectful, open dialogue.”
The museum’s decision came after weeks of protests, riots and other forms of demonstrations to combat institutionalized and systemic racism throughout the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Floyd, a black man, was arrested on May 25 by Minneapolis police officers after a deli employee contacted authorities, accusing him of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, according to news reports.
A viral video showed Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee on Floyd’s neck. A criminal complaint from the Hennepin County attorney’s office said, “The defendant had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive.”
Chauvin, who is white, was initially charged with third-degree murder until his charge was updated to second-degree murder and manslaughter, according to news reports. He was one of four officers fired from the Police Department due to the incident.
The county headquarters was named the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, which Curran said will also not change. Curran touted Roosevelt’s contributions to the United States in her statement.
“Teddy Roosevelt established the United States as an enduring world power, introduced consumer protection as a critical function of government, pioneered our national park system, and the cause of environmental conservation,” Curran said.
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) announced that the county headquarters would be named after Roosevelt in 2002 during his time as county executive. Roosevelt served as the governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 and resided in Oyster Bay.
