It has been almost six years since the City of Boston removed the Emancipation Group monument, also known as the Emancipation Memorial, from Park Square due to concerns about what some perceived to be its racist imagery.
The statue is a replica of a bronze Thomas Ball sculpture erected in Lincoln Park, Washington, D.C. in 1876. The Boston replica was installed in 1879 and remained in place until being removed on December 29, 2020.
The City of Boston website says the original artwork “aimed to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation and honor President Lincoln.” The site says, “The original version was funded by donations from formerly enslaved people.”
A History Rooted in 1876 and Frederick Douglass’s Critique
“Abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at the dedication in Washington,” according to the City website. “Douglass later stated his disappointment in the monument’s portrayal of its Black subject and Emancipation.”…