BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Controversial statue depicting Abraham Lincoln and a freed slave was removed from Park Square in Boston on Tuesday.
The statue shows a slave kneeling before Abraham Lincoln and it had been standing in the park since 1879.
The statue depicts Abraham Lincoln standing over Archer Alexander. He was a black man who helped the Union Army.
Alexander escaped slavery but was recaptured under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Tory Bullock started the petition asking the city to remove it and he is among those saying the statue is demeaning to people of color.
Bullock says to put yourself in the shoes of Alexander and how he is depicted in the statue.
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"For anyone that feels that this is not that offensive, or they don't understand what is wrong with it, take whoever you are and put yourself on your knees and someone else above you and see how you'd feel about that," Bullock said.
The Boston Art Commission voted unanimously to remove the statue in June.
A crane came to the park early Tuesday morning and now the pedestal sits empty. "I just feel like it was a very subservient view that a lot of African Americans didn't agree with and finally we did something about it," Bullock said.
The statue will be in temporary storage, until a permanent place can be found.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports
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(Photo: Getty Images)