BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston man is pushing to take down an “uncomfortable” statue of Abraham Lincoln standing over a slave, and has the support of Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
The statue stands in Park square, a block away from the Public Garden, and shows Lincoln standing over a kneeling slave. The state was meant to honor emancipation, but Tory Bullock said the postures have bothered him since he first saw it as a child.
“It’s supposed to portray freedom and standing up, rising up. When I see it, I see submission, weakness, know your place,” Bullock said. “It is an amazing piece of artwork, and it also is very, very uncomfortable for a lot of black Bostonians.”
Last week, when Bullock heard about the Christopher Columbus statue in the North End being beheaded and taken down, he started a petition to remove the Lincoln statue. It’s since received 7,000 signatures, seven times his original goal.
And a spokesperson for Walsh said the mayor is in favor of removing the statue and is willing to engage with the community, including the city’s Arts Commission, about its future in the city. Bullock said he hopes a diverse team of Boston artists can decide on a replacement, and that the statue is preserved.
“I don’t want to see it destroyed, melted, vandalized. I highly suggest putting it in a warehouse somewhere and we can someday put them up as conversation pieces to talk about a past. a past that doesn’t exist anymore,” Bullock said. “Even though it’s very historic and there’s great stories and a great legacy attached to it, it makes people feel uncomfortable, and if it makes anybody feel uncomfortable, it has to go away, and then we can figure something else out.”
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