Video from Portland captured a white woman vandalizing a statue of the only Black member of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition.
On Thursday, the Portland police identified the woman as 43-year-old Jeanette K. Grode.
She was cited for second-degree criminal mischief, abuse of venerated objects, unlawful applying of graffiti and vandalism.
The video shows Grode using purple spray paint to deface the statue of York, who was an enslaved member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
York had been William Clark’s servant and his father before him was a slave to Clark’s father.
York was also the first African American to cross North America and reach the Pacific Coast, with historical journals showing he was invaluable to the expedition.
In an obscenity-laced rant, Grode says that she is a victim of “prejudice against Black and Hispanic people,” and says that replacing the statue of a white man with a Black man is “not unity.”
She also shared her personal information with a bystander who recorded the incident.
Had an interesting encounter during a bike ride this morning. A person was defacing the Bust of York statue on the top of Mt Tabor. pic.twitter.com/LbLYut9RGr
— GodzEli (@santoku) June 8, 2021
The statue of York, who was the first Black person to cross North America and reach the Pacific Coast, replaced a statue of Harvey Scott, who was the longtime editor and owner of the Oregonian newspaper.
Scott’s statue was toppled in October because of his views on women’s suffrage, which he opposed.
This is the second time within three months that the statue of York has been vandalized.
Portland Parks & Recreation told KGW that it’s already working on removing the paint and determining the cost of the damage.
The Portland Police Department is investigating the incident.