Pittsburgh Takes Down Controversial Statue Of Famed Songwriter Stephen Foster

The controversial statue of American singer-songwriter Stephen Foster has been removed from the city of Pittsburgh after almost 8 decades.

The 10-feet tall bronze statue was sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti in 1900. It was erected near the Schenley Plaza right across the Stephen Foster Memorial in 1940.

The statue was controversial because it features a black man, wearing tattered clothes and strumming a banjo, sitting at his feet. Many see the image as racist and a celebration of white appropriation of black culture. Foster was known for "Uncle Ned," a minstrel song about a black slave.

Removing A Landmark

The decision to move the statue from its home of 80 years in the city was made back in October. The Pittsburgh Art Commission held a public meeting and asked the audience about the opinion of the statue.

The Art Commission unanimously voted for the removal of the bronze statue. The city of Pittsburgh confirmed the decision in March, Pitt News reported.

Foster was also known for the classics "Oh! Susanna," "Old Folks At Home," "Hard Times Come Again No More," and "My Old Kentucky Home" which many consider were an anti-slavery song.

A new statue is planned to be erected on the site where Foster used to sit. The local Task Force on Women in Public Art is pushing to replace it with that of an African-American woman. AAmong the personalities being considered include abolitionist Catherine Delany, entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, or Gwendolyn J. Elliot, a police officer.

"It's been a long process. There have been criticisms about this statue for decades, and it finally came to a head last year in the context of other controversies around the country of Confederate statues," a spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto stated. "Obviously this is a little bit different, but the city's Art Commission found that it was no longer appropriate in a city space."

Statue removed! The controversial statue of composer Stephen Foster and African-American man beneath him, comes down from its post in Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh. #KDKA pic.twitter.com/R6Tk3c6hhp — Lisa Washington (@LisaWashing) April 26, 2018

However, Foster will not be completely chucked and forgotten by the city of Pittsburgh. Currently, there are plans to move the statue to a "properly contextualized" location. The 19th-century songwriter was born in 1862 into a wealthy family in Western Pennsylvania. Despite his contribution to the music history of the United States, he died penniless at 37 in 1864 in New York City. The Library of Congress calls Foster "one of America's principal and most influential songwriters." He wrote more than 200 songs in his lifetime.

Public Reaction

The removal of the statue on Thursday, April 26, was met with mixed reactions from the people of Pittsburgh.