Fallon, Thomas

  • CountryUS
  • Town:CA San José‚

  • Year of creation:2002

  • Rider(s):Fallon, Thomas

    (1825–1885) was an Irish-born, Canadian-raised American capitalist and politician, the tenth Mayor of San Jose, California.
    When the Mexican–American War began in 1846 Fallon’s force crossed the Santa Cruz Mountains to capture the El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (now the City of San José) without bloodshed. He received an American Flag from Sloat, which he raised over the juzgado of San Jose, the pueblo’s administrative building. Fallon’s volunteers then joined Fremont’s California Battalion for the remainder of the war.

  • Sculptor(s):Glen, Robert

    is a sculptor from Kenya.
Description:

In the 1980s, San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery had the city commission a statue of Fallon raising the U.S. flag in San Jose. The statue was completed in 1988, and was scheduled to be located near the site of the flag raising. However local groups, including Hispanic Americans, protested that Fallon represented American imperialism and repression of the Mexican population. The statue was stored until 2002, when it was finally displayed in Pellier Park.

In 2020, criticisms were revived in the aftermath to the killing of George Floyd. Peaceful protests occurred in San Jose. However, some protesters surrounded the statue, vandalized it including with anti-police messages, and then set it on fire. San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo is already talking with historians and community leaders and residents on what to do with the statue. 

Photographer unknown

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