'Problematic' Roosevelt statue at American Museum of Natural History finds new home

A "problematic" statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City has found a new home.

A "problematic" statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City that has been criticized for symbolizing colonialism and racism has found a new home, more than a year after the city announced it will be removed.

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library said Friday it has agreed to take the statue of the former president, which has stood on the steps of the museum since 1940, for a long-term loan.

The agreement will let the library, which is slated to open in 2026 in Medora, North Dakota, relocate the statue for storage "while considering a display that would enable it to serve as an important tool to study the nation's past," the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation said.

"Museums are supposed to do hard things," Edward O'Keefe, chief executive officer of Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said in a statement. "It is said that 'those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,' and our job is to forthrightly examine history to understand the present and make a better future."