A newly installed equestrian monument to Caesar Rodney appears at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, enslaved at least 200 people during his lifetime. The statue had previously been removed by Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2020 amid Black Lives Matter protests against racist violence. The monument was created by James Edward Kelly and joins other sculptures at the plaza, including a long-standing bronze statue of Casimir Pulaski. The identities of 11 other sculptures are not publicly known, though they are described as Revolutionary War soldiers. The National Park Service posted closure information for the site from December 29, 2025 through May 15, 2026, while the plaza remained cordoned off during a visit. Signs referenced Department of the Interior, NPS, and the “Freedom 250” program, and some were stickered with QR codes about pay stubs and pay equity concerns.
"A group of sculptures installed at Freedom Plaza on Friday, May 22, includes a statue of a Revolutionary War officer who enslaved at least 200 people during his lifetime. The equestrian monument of Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, had been removed by the city of Wilmington in Delaware in June 2020, amid historic Black Lives Matter protests against racist violence."
"The sculpture, created by artist James Edward Kelly, joins a long-standing bronze statue of Casimir Pulaski, an American Revolutionary general who was born in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The identities of the other 11 sculptures are unknown, but the Interior Department told Hyperallergic that they depict soldiers from the US Revolutionary War."
"A note from the National Park Service (NPS) zip-tied to the fence at Freedom Plaza stated that the site, along with neighboring Sheridan Park, would be closed from December 29, 2025, through Friday, May 15, 2026. However, the plaza was still cordoned off when Hyperallergic visited on Monday."
"Signs with the logos of the Department of the Interior, NPS, and Trump's "Freedom 250" program were also zip-tied along the fence. One read, "We are making DC SAFE & BEAUTIFUL"; another stated, "These improvements are being completed using your fee dollars. Thank you for your support." Some signs had been stickered over with guerrilla QR codes encouraging people to check their pay stubs amid rising concerns about pay equity in Washington, DC."
Read at Hyperallergic
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