Emancipation Group: Boston statue depicting an enslaved man kneeling before Lincoln was removed

Emancipation Group: Boston statue depicting an enslaved man kneeling before Lincoln was removed

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“We are pleased to remove it this morning,” said a spokeswoman for Mayor Marty Walsh in a statement to CNN.

“As expressed by many during the public process this year, we fully agree that the statue should be moved to a new location accessible to the public, where its history and context can be better explained,” said the spokeswoman. “The removal decision recognizes the statue’s role in perpetuating harmful prejudices and obscuring the role of black Americans in shaping the nation’s struggle for freedom.”

Walsh’s office said the statue was moved to a warehouse until a new location is selected.

The removal comes after months of a national movement to remove Confederate symbols and other statues that were considered racist by current standards.
Boston to remove statue depicting freed slave kneeling before President Lincoln
The statue is a replica of a statue in Washington, DC, and has been controversial since its installation in 1876 for the way it portrays the freed slave. It shows President Lincoln in a suit standing over a partially dressed ex-slave rising from broken handcuffs, according to the Boston Arts and Culture website.

The Boston replica was installed in 1879. It was donated by Moses Kimball, a politician and founder of the Boston Museum, according to the Arts and Culture website.

The statue was based on a photograph of Archer Alexander, a former slave who “helped the Union Army before seeking freedom for himself and his family,” according to the city’s website. Alexander was recaptured several times under the Fugitive Slave Law.

The bronze statue was designed to celebrate the emancipation of slaves, but some perceive it as a submission to Lincoln or a demonstration of white rule, according to the Harvard Library.

While there has always been criticism of the statue, it was a local petition started in June that renewed interest in its removal.

Boston actor and activist Tory Bullock initiated the petition, according to the city’s website. He had more than 12,000 signatures in favor of removal.
“It is an incredible funeral, I am here to offer a silent compliment to this piece of art that has been here for 141 years,” Bullock told CNN affiliate WBZ when the statue was removed.

“I’m proud, I’m black and I’m young,” said Bullock. “This image has done a terrible job for African Americans in Boston and now it stops.”

A series of virtual panel discussions and short-term art installations this winter will address “examining and reimagining our cultural symbols, public art and stories,” said the mayor’s spokeswoman.

The Boston Art Commission is looking for ideas on where to move the statue. People can send ideas or feedback here.

CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.

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