A 118-year-old statue of the « Oh! Susanna » songwriter has been removed from a Pittsburgh park after criticism that the work is demeaning because it includes a black man sitting at his feet, plucking a banjo.
A 118-year-old statue of the « Oh! Susanna » songwriter was removed from a Pittsburgh park Thursday after criticism that the work is demeaning because it includes a slave sitting at his feet, plucking a banjo.
In October, the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to take the Stephen Foster sculpture out of Schenley Plaza and find it a new home. For now, it will remain in a storage lot, out of the public view.
On Thursday, workers used straps and construction equipment to lift the 10-foot-bronze statue off its base. It was strapped to a flatbed truck and taken away.
The Giuseppe Moretti statue was completed in 1900 and thousands attended its dedication.
The shoeless banjo player is based on « Uncle Ned, » a fictional slave and subject of a song by the same name. Critics have long decried the statue as racist.
« It’s the single most offensive display of public art in Pittsburgh, hands down, » Paradise Gray, a hip-hop activist, musician and writer, told the Post-Gazette in August . « It permanently depicts the black man at the white man’s feet. »
Others say it highlights that Foster was inspired by black spirituals. Some historians contend the 1848 song is actually an early, subtle anti-slavery song.
A statue honoring an African-American woman will be put up in its place. Residents can submit nominations.
Foster, a Pittsburgh native, is often called the father of American music and was known for enduring tunes from the 1800s.
His songs include « Camptown Races, » »My Old Kentucky Home, » »Beautiful Dreamer » and « Old Folks at Home » (Swanee Song).
He died penniless in New York City in 1864 at age 37.
