CNN's Angela Rye called for statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to come down Thursday on the network.



"American history is not all glorious... George Washington was a slave owner. We need to call slave owners out for what they are. Whether we think they were protecting American freedom or not, he wasn't protecting my freedoms," the network contributor said.



"To me, I don't care if it's a George Washington statue or Thomas Jefferson, they all need to come down," Rye concluded.



Rye's remarks came after Daily Beast editor John Avlon argued Washingon spent his life trying to unite the nation.



Full remarks:





ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We have to get to the heart of the problem here. The heart is the way many of us were taught American history. American history is not all glorious. I love John to death, but I couldn't disagree more about George Washington. George Washington was a slave owner. We need to call slave owners out for what they are. Whether we think they were protecting American freedom or not, he wasn't protecting my freedoms. I wasn't someone -- my ancestors weren't deemed human beings. To me, I don't care if it's a George Washington statue or Thomas Jefferson, they all need to come down. There is a way to recognize...



I'm not feeding into white supremacy. I'm calling out white supremacy for what it is. And sometimes what it is, John, are blind spots. Sometimes what it is, is not acknowledging this country was built on a very violent past that resulted in death and the rape and the killing of my ancestors. I'm not going to allow us to say it's OK for Robert E. Lee and not a George Washington. We need to call it what it is. I don't say they don't deserve to be taught about. We definitely need to learn about it so we don't repeat it. We are close to repeating it right now. I'm not giving any deference to George Washington or Robert E. Lee.