Tehran squares

Few today would defend commemorating or honoring figures like Colston or Leopold. They profited from cruelty and persecution, and hundreds of thousands of Africans died in the process. Similarly, there are moments in history where destroying icons has been part of a popular urge for liberation. During the 1956 uprising in Hungary, crowds tore down the huge bronze statue of Joseph Stalin, a gift to the Soviet leader on his 70th birthday.