Calls To Remove Controversial Abraham Lincoln Statue In Boston; Race Issues In Boston

[appalachiablue]

- 'Calls to remove controversial Abraham Lincoln statue in Boston,' WCVB Channel 5 Boston. Published on June 14, 2020. The dismantling of controversial statues and monuments in the city of Boston is a mounting subject in the ongoing push for racial justice in the nation.

- NBC Boston, 'Why Is He Still On His Knees? Calls Grow To Remove Statue of Lincoln and Freed Black Man in Boston, June 15, 2020. A petition to remove Boston's replica of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington had nearly 8,000 signatures as of Monday morning.

"This is not about Lincoln, this is about the figure that’s supposed to represent my people - naked, kneeling in front of him," petition creator Tory Bullock said. "I think there are lot of creative ideas we can use to change that situation." Bullock, of Boston, said the statue in the city’s Park Square has bothered him since he was a child, often asking himself, “if he’s free, why is he still on his knees?” ... https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/why-is-he-still-on-his-knees-calls-grow-to-remove-statue-of-lincoln-freed-black-man/2143071/

[J_William_Ryan]

1. That Lincoln statue

is truly awful.

[EarnestPutz]

2. Mr. Tory Bullock asks "if he's free, why is he still on his knees?"

I don't like the statue either, but I think it represents the act of freeing the slaves, so technically the black man illustrated (badly) is at that moment, still a slave. Change the statue, by all means, but don't accuse the sculptor of something he didn't intend to do.

[Merlot]

4. The sculptor would have provided sketches of what the statue would look like

The people commissioning the statue made the final decision.

And to those Italians saying the Columbus statue was paid for by private funds, fine - but was it on public property?

[EarnestPutz]

6. Just read more about the statue. It is a copy of the original, commisioned in 1876 in Washington...

....and paid for by newly freed slaves. "Abraham Lincoln standing over a kneeling slave, beckoning him to rise and claim his freedom" was the description.

[marble falls]

5. I get it. It is truly awful.