this week, where it stood for nearly 80 years. the monument criticized as a symbol of racism and colonialism. cnn's athena jones has the story. >> reporter: the equestrian statue of theodore roosevelt spent more than eight decades there. t commissioned in 1925 and designed by james earl frazier debuted in 1940. depicted on horseback towering over two sparsely clothed men, one native american, the other black. allegorical figures ment to represent the continents of north america and africa. but critics say they explicitly depict black and indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior. now after years of debate, the controversial work is being moved. >> i think it's fair to say that, you know, that we should see these as complicated kinds