BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A controversial statue in Boston, which depicts President Abraham Lincoln standing over a kneeling slave, could soon be removed by the city.
The Emancipation Memorial, often referred to as 'The Freedman's Memorial' is located a block away from Boston’s Public Garden in Park Square.
The statue shows Lincoln, who issued the emancipation proclamation of 1863, towering over a freed slave on his knees with shackles still on his wrists.
The organizer of an online petition to remove the statue, Tory Bullock, told WBZ-TV that as a black man, the statue does not signify freedom to him.
"I've been watching this man on his knees since I was a kid," said Bullock. "It's supposed to represent freedom but instead represents us still beneath someone else. I would always ask myself 'If he's free why is he still on his knees?' No kid should have to ask themselves that question anymore."
By noon on Sunday, Bullock's online petition had reached nearly 7,000 signatures, far surpassing his goal to get 1,000 names.
According to WBZ-TV, Mayor Walsh's office said "he is willing to talk to the community about the future of the statue. He also said he’s interested in potentially recommissioning it into something that recognizes equality."
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(Photo: Getty Images)