The controversial Frank Rizzo statue that was created by Glenside sculptor Zenos Frudakis has been slated for removal sometime in 2021, writes Victor Fiorillo for the Philadelphia Magazine.

And while many want to see the statue go, some staunchly declare that it should stay exactly where it is.

Meanwhile, Frudakis has his own idea about what should happen to the sculpture. The artist, who is a San Francisco native, was living in the Philadelphia area during Rizzo’s controversial double term as mayor.

“Politically, I am to the left of Bernie Sanders, and I saw the way that Rizzo tried to keep minorities down,” said Frudakis. “But removing the statue isn’t right.”

Instead, he believes the statue should be used to educate people by adding context to it.

This would include putting up new plaques that would explain his polarizing legacies and building a contrasting statue or statues at the same location that would redefine the Rizzo statue.

This could include a statue of Leon Sullivan, the prominent Philadelphia civil rights leader and anti-apartheid activist.

Read more about the issue at the Philadelphia Magazine by clicking here.

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Top photo credit: joepiette2 Take Rizzo Down! rally via photopin (license)