A statue in Central Park dedicated to a controversial doctor was spray-painted with the worst “racist.”
The word was spray-painted on the back of the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, police said, according to CBSNew York on Sunday.
The eyes and neck of the statue of Sims, known as the father of modern gynecology, were also covered in spray paint.
{mosads}Earlier this month, protesters rallied for the removal of the statue of Sims, who protesters said experimented on enslaved women.
“Under the guise of medical advancement, they were probed, they were tortured and they were dehumanized,” City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D) said.
The removal of the statue is reportedly being reviewed by the city commission, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said, according to CBS.
The vandalization of the statue comes after violent clashes occurred earlier this month in Charlottesville, Va., during a white nationalist rally.
The rally followed the city’s decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. It prompted a review of controversial statues and Confederate monuments in multiple cities across the U.S.