A statue of

Frank Rizzo Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) from 1967 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He wa ...

, sometimes called the Frank L. Rizzo Monument, was installed in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Erected in 1998, the

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

was removed in June 2020.

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

activists and others protested the statue's presence, and the statue was taken down during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

Background

As mayor, Rizzo was a strong opponent of

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

of Philadelphia's schools, and prevented the construction of

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

in majority-white neighborhoods. While running for a third term, Rizzo urged supporters to "Vote White". During his tenure as police commissioner and mayor, the Philadelphia police department engaged in patterns of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

, intimidation, coercion, and disregard for

constitutional rights A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...

. The patterns of police brutality were documented in a Pulitzer-Prize winning ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' series by William K. Marimow and Jon Neuman.

History

The statue was placed on its pedestal on December 30, 1998 and unveiled on January 1, 1999. A crowd of 150 listened to speeches by Mayor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

. The ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' reported that sculptor Zenos Frudakis had "decided that his monument should be a statue walking toward the people, hand upheld in a greeting."

Controversy and removal

In 2013, following the not-guilty verdict in the

killing of Trayvon Martin On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, who was visiting his father while suspended from his Miami-area school. Zimmerman, a 28-yea ...

, a sign was hung around the statue's neck with the message, "This system is still racist." The ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' noted that Rizzo "had a poor relationship with Philadelphia's African-American community." Calls for the statue's removal began in 2016, when a group called the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice started an online petition. In August 2017, following the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a White supremacy#United States, white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, whi ...

in Charlottesville, Virginia, the statue was vandalized, kicking off further calls for its removal. Frudakis told the ''Tribune'' that he "hesitated to do the work at first" due to Rizzo's past and would accept the statue's removal if the city decided on it. In November 2017, the city voted to remove the statue, but mayor

Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 99th mayor of Philadelphia from 2016 to 2024. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning ...

refused due to the $200,000 expense involved. Following unsuccessful attempts to pull down the statue during the 2020

, the mayor's office ordered its removal. The statue was placed into storage in July of that year.

References

External links

* {{Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests 1998 establishments in Pennsylvania 1998 sculptures 2020 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Bronze sculptures in Pennsylvania Monuments and memorials in the United States removed during the George Floyd protests Outdoor sculptures in Philadelphia Sculptures of men in Pennsylvania Statues in Philadelphia Statues removed in 2020 Vandalized works of art in Pennsylvania Sculptures by Zenos Frudakis

Background

History

Controversy and removal

See also

References

External links