'We ignore the power of symbols at our peril' - architect David Adjaye on why racist monuments must be replaced

Jul 3, 2020

A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus is seen at the Bayside Marketplace, after a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Downtown Miami, Florida, U.S., June 10, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello - RC2S6H948OKT

Monumental injustice ... we have to be ruthless with the truth to allow fractured communities to heal, says the architect and Smithsonian designer. Image: REUTERS/Marco Bello

Gayle Markovitz

Lead Editor, World Economic Forum

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Systemic Racism is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Systemic Racism

Have you read?

“”

— David Adjaye, Architect

Image: Alan Karchmer, National Museum of African American History and Culture

Protesters kneel in front of the National Museum of African American History and Culture during a march as racial inequality protests continue, in Washington DC, June 23, 2020 Image: REUTERS/Leah Millis

“”

Discover

What's the World Economic Forum doing about diversity, equity and inclusion?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.