Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It could be a couple months before Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto decides the fate of the controversial statue of Stephen Foster in Oakland.
Mr. Peduto said as much Friday, two days after the city Art Commission recommended that he have the city-owned statue removed from its public site along Forbes Avenue and put in a private, “properly contextualized” location.
3 comments:
’m sure I have probably walked past this statue numerous times, however I’ve never actually paid any attention to it given the number of other statues in that area. This topic does not come to me as a surprise though given the recent push by citizens and city governments to remove statues and monuments with confederate ties. The article makes it seem like Mayor Peduto is hesitating a little bit on the issue based on the tone and style. He comments that he has the ability to ask for more information, even though he just attended a public hearing on the issue. I’m guessing he’s just trying to buy himself some time, but it feels like a polarizing enough of an issue, that he should take a firm stance on it. Additionally, given his political affiliation and support base, it seems like it would be a fairly easy decision to move the statue to a private location. I hope that we continue to see public art examined and readdressed, as times have changed and will hopefully to continue to change for the better.
As Ben mentioned above, I’m not sure I understand the delay, given that 75% of written comments favored removing the statue and the Art Commission recommended its removal from the public location after a public hearing. I can only imagine that the mayor is either 1) trying to manage expectations about timeline – they may need time to make arrangements for the statue, etc., and he doesn’t want the public to expect a swift removal or 2) the mayor is trying to project the image of a thorough careful response, so those who oppose the statue’s removal don’t feel roundly dismissed.
Having said that, I expect the statue will be removed soon, as it should be. Pittsburgh has many heroes worth memorializing… it should be easy to find someone (hopefully a black Pittsburgher) to honor. Our public memorials should lift everyone up. I think this wave of statue removals and replacements is refreshing. We have a chance to say who we, the people now *in this moment*, think is worth admiring and how that admiration will be portrayed.
Though some may view removing the statue as a sign of "making problems where there doesn't have to be any", I highly disagree citing the issues that have occurred in this past year, if the KKK and other hateful white supremacists are triggered to uproar in violence and riot against taking down a racist monument, then we have a problem. Pittsburgh is a fairly liberal city in swinging state, and its important that they stand on the right side of history in terms of how they treat racially insensitive artwork. The statue also immortalizes an age old issue of status between African Americans and White Americans, a problem that assures outrage rom the community. The more statues like these are kept up, the more hateful language and attitudes continue to be respected, tolerated, and put into positions of power, so by taking this statue down the city of Pittsburgh has the ability to set an example of the rest of Pennsylvania on how to take the high road. I take it that this statue will be rightfully removed very soon due to the hateful nature of what it stands for.
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