The Controversial Philadelphia Statue of Frank Rizzo, a Former Police Chief and Segregationist Mayor, Has Been Taken Down by the City

In a symbolic victory for
protestors in Philadelphia, the bronze statue of Frank Rizzo, a
former mayor and police commissioner known for promoting aggressive
policing tactics, was removed from its place near City Hall this
morning. 

Erected in 1998, the
10-foot-tall statue has long been targeted by activists and
social-justice reformers who saw it as a symbol of police brutality
and racism. It has been vandalized on numerous occasions; the most
recent occurred during a spate of Black Lives Matter protests in
the Pennsylvania hub this weekend, when crowds lit it on fire and
attempted to take it down by force. 

On Tuesday, current Philadelphia
mayor Jim Kenney signed an order mandating that the city’s managing
director remove the statue immediately. Crowds looked on and
cheered as it was hoisted away by a crane at roughly 2 a.m. this
morning.

“This is the beginning of the
healing process in our city,” Mayor Kenney told reporters this
morning, noting that the city still has a long way to go. “That
statue was representative of that era and had to go away in order
for us to understand where we need to go going forward.” The
sculpture is just one of many
sculptures tied to America’s racist history that has re-emerged
as a target of struggle in recent days. 

Rizzo served as Philadelphia’s
police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of the city from
1972 to 1980. In both roles, he was known for encouraging police
officers to use excessive force, especially against the black
community, and for his stance against the desegregation of public
schools. While campaigning for his third mayoral campaign in 1991—a
campaign that saw him encouraging Philadelphians to “Vote
White”—Rizzo died suddenly of a heart attack. 

The monument, which was bolted
into a set of stairs above a municipal concourse, was set to be
removed next year as part of the renovation of the plaza on which
it sits. In a statement issued by his office early this morning,
Kenney called the choice to fold the removal of the statue into a
larger construction project a “mistake.”

“We prioritized efficiency over
full recognition of what this statue represented to Black
Philadelphians and members of other marginalized communities,” he
explained. 

This Sunday, Kenney announced
that the move would happen “in a month or so.” But as protests
waged through the first part of the week, the mayor decided it
could not wait any longer. 

“We just needed to get it out of
the way so we can move forward,” he told reporters.

The city announced that the
statue will be held in storage by the Department of Public Property
for the time being while authorities determine a plan for its
future. At that time, the plan will be presented to the
Philadelphia Art Commission for final approval.

The post The Controversial Philadelphia Statue of Frank
Rizzo, a Former Police Chief and Segregationist Mayor, Has Been
Taken Down by the City appeared first on artnet
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