Frank L. Rizzo statue
If there is one monument in Philadelphia that is universally hated by Philadelphians it is the statue of Frank L. Rizzo. He was a police officer turned police commissioner turned mayor. He was known for being one of the most racist and homophobic leaders in Philadelphia. The statue was originally erected in 1998 in front of the Municipal Services building across from City Hall. Well, many people see the statue as a honor to a hard-working mayor others see it as an insult and in fence towards the black and queer community.
Who is Frank L. Rizzo 1920-1991
. Frank Rizzo was a police commissioner in Philadelphia who was elected mayor in 1971. He served as mayor throughout the 1970s. Rizzo was very forward about his commitment to the constituencies that brought him to power, those he called “white ethnics”—especially Polish, Italian, and Irish American communities in South and Northeast Philly. Already as a beat cop and then police commissioner in the 1960s, he had built a reputation for hostility to Blacks, Latino/as, and civil rights demonstrators. This reputation was exactly what some members of these “white ethnic” groups liked about him. Rizzo was a “tough on crime” mayor, who allowed rampant abuse to reign in the city’s police department
Problems from the start
Before the statue was even put up for public view, there was heavy debate over the placement, and removal and the relocation of the statue. Then in 2017 people were calling for the removal of the statue, launching the Frank Rizzo down campaign, pointing to the inequality and police brutality under the Rizzo administration. Then in 2020 the murder of George Floyd put extreme pressure on taking down the statue.
Zenos Frudakis 1951-today
Zenos Frudakis is a sculpture from San Francisco, California. He’s made more than 150 sculptures in his lifetime. A good amount of those sculptures are in Philadelphia. His work explores different ranges from monuments for public commission to bronze bust of the famous.Frudakis studied on a scholarship at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, earning a Bachelor in Fine Art and a Master in Fine Art at the University of Pennsylvania. Frudakis emphasizes the figure and the portrait, as demonstrated in his many monumental figure/portrait works, individual portrait busts, and bas-reliefs.Frudakis is the creator of the Government People” statue that the Frank El Rizzo statue used to sit next to Frank L. Rizzo is quoted calling it “a load of dumped plaster”.
2020
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