Statue of Frank Rizzo

{{Infobox artwork

| title = Statue of Frank Rizzo

| italic title = no

| painting_alignment =

| other_language_1 =

| other_title_1 = Frank L. Rizzo Monument

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| wikidata =

| image = Zenos Frudakis Frank Rizzo.jpg

| image_upright =

| alt = A picture of the statue

| caption = Artist Zenos Frudakis with the statue, 2009

| artist =

| year = {{start date|1998}}

| completion_date =

| catalogue =

| medium = Bronze sculpture

| movement =

| subject = Frank Rizzo

| height_imperial = 10

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| metric_unit = m

| imperial_unit = ft

| weight =

| designation =

| condition = Removed 2020, now in storage

| museum =

| city = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| coordinates = {{Coord|39.95375|-75.16449|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-PA|display=inline,title}}

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 13

| owner =

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}}

A statue of Frank Rizzo, sometimes called the Frank L. Rizzo Monument, was installed in Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Erected in 1998,{{Cite web|last=Griffith|first=Janelle|date=June 3, 2020|title=Statue of divisive ex-Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo targeted in protests is taken down|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/statue-divisive-ex-philadelphia-mayor-frank-rizzo-targeted-protests-taken-n1223436|access-date=2020-06-03|publisher=NBC News|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604085303/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/statue-divisive-ex-philadelphia-mayor-frank-rizzo-targeted-protests-taken-n1223436|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Davis|first=Corey|date=2020-06-03|title=Frank Rizzo statue removed from steps of the Municipal Services Building overnight|url=https://6abc.com/6228470/|access-date=2020-06-03|website=6abc Philadelphia|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603202837/https://6abc.com/6228470/|url-status=live}} the bronze sculpture was removed in June 2020.{{Cite web|last=Chappell|first=Bill|date=June 3, 2020|title=Frank Rizzo Statue Is Removed In Philadelphia: 'It Is Finally Gone,' Mayor Says|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868848550/frank-rizzo-statue-is-removed-in-philadelphia-it-is-finally-gone-mayor-says|access-date=2020-06-03|publisher=NPR|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603180349/https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868848550/frank-rizzo-statue-is-removed-in-philadelphia-it-is-finally-gone-mayor-says|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Pineda|first=Khrysgiana|date=June 3, 2020|title=Controversial statue of former Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo removed after George Floyd protests|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/03/frank-rizzo-statue-philadelphia-city-hall-removed/3134229001/|access-date=2020-06-03|work=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603183152/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/03/frank-rizzo-statue-philadelphia-city-hall-removed/3134229001/|url-status=live}} Black Lives Matter activists and others protested the statue's presence, and the statue was taken down during the George Floyd protests.{{Cite web|last=Hickey|first=Brian|date=August 10, 2018|title=Rizzo foe: Let's gather next month with 'ropes and chains to tear the statue down'|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/frank-rizzo-statue-teardown-sept-3-ropes-chains-philadelphia-black-lives-matter/|access-date=2020-06-03|website=www.phillyvoice.com|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603184952/https://www.phillyvoice.com/frank-rizzo-statue-teardown-sept-3-ropes-chains-philadelphia-black-lives-matter/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Hawkins|first=Derek|date=August 18, 2017|title=Former Philly mayor Frank Rizzo was no Confederate. But it's open season on his statue.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/18/phillys-frank-rizzo-was-no-confederate-but-its-open-season-on-his-statue/|access-date=2020-06-03|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603183810/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/18/phillys-frank-rizzo-was-no-confederate-but-its-open-season-on-his-statue/|url-status=live}}

Background

As mayor, Rizzo was a strong opponent of desegregation of Philadelphia's schools, and prevented the construction of public housing in majority-white neighborhoods.{{Cite web |last=Blumgart |first=Jake |date=2018-08-21 |title=A historian on the Rizzo debate: 'It comes down to what statues do' |url=https://whyy.org/articles/a-historian-on-the-rizzo-debate-it-comes-down-to-what-statues-do/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604010921/https://whyy.org/articles/a-historian-on-the-rizzo-debate-it-comes-down-to-what-statues-do/ |archive-date=2020-06-04 |access-date=2020-05-30 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}} While running for a third term, Rizzo urged supporters to "Vote White".{{Cite news |first=Gregory |last=Jaynes |date=1978-11-09 |title=Philadelphia's Message to Rizzo: 'Enough' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/09/archives/philadelphias-message-to-rizzo-enough-predicted-greatest-victory.html|access-date=2020-05-30|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603151434/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/09/archives/philadelphias-message-to-rizzo-enough-predicted-greatest-victory.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=How Philly's Frank Rizzo Rode 'Blue-Collar Conservatism' to Victory|url=https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/09/the-polarizing-mayor-who-embodied-blue-collar-conservatism/570337/|last=Blumgart|first=Jake|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=September 18, 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-30|archive-date=2020-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604010935/https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/09/the-polarizing-mayor-who-embodied-blue-collar-conservatism/570337/|url-status=live}} During his tenure as police commissioner and mayor, the Philadelphia police department engaged in patterns of police brutality, intimidation, coercion, and disregard for constitutional rights.{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Suzanne Ife |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/84480572 |title=Police brutality : case study of Philadelphia/Move |year=1988 |oclc=84480572 |access-date=2020-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314203332/https://www.worldcat.org/title/police-brutality-case-study-of-philadelphiamove/oclc/84480572 |archive-date=2021-03-14 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=The Brutal Legacy of Frank Rizzo, the Most Notorious Cop in Philadelphia History|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwxp3m/remembering-frank-rizzo-the-most-notorious-cop-in-philadelphia-history-1022|last=Blumgart|first=Jake|date=2015-10-22|website=Vice|language=en|access-date=2020-05-30|archive-date=2020-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604010729/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kwxp3m/remembering-frank-rizzo-the-most-notorious-cop-in-philadelphia-history-1022|url-status=live}} The patterns of police brutality were documented in a Pulitzer-Prize winning Philadelphia Inquirer series by William K. Marimow and Jon Neuman.{{Cite news|date=1978-04-18|title=Sketches of Pulitzer Prize Winners in Journalism, the Arts and Letters|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/18/archives/sketches-of-pulitzer-prize-winners-in-journalism-the-arts-and.html|access-date=2020-05-30|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604030623/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/18/archives/sketches-of-pulitzer-prize-winners-in-journalism-the-arts-and.html|url-status=live}}

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. 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."{{cite news |last1=Burton |first1=Cynthia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-rizzo-statute/54534314/ |url-status=live |via=newspapers.com |title=Statue of Frank Rizzo is Unveiled as Crowd Cheers, Mummers Play |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=January 2, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017100104/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-rizzo-statute/54534314/ |archive-date=October 17, 2023 }}

=Controversy and removal=

In 2013, following the not-guilty verdict in the killing of Trayvon Martin, 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."{{cite news |last1=Abdur-Rahman |first1=Sulaiman |title=Debate rages over verdict in Martin case |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20130715_Debate_rages_over_verdict_in_Martin_case.html |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |date=July 14, 2013 |access-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706170714/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20130715_Debate_rages_over_verdict_in_Martin_case.html |url-status=live }}

Calls for the statue's removal began in 2016, when a group called the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice started an online petition.{{cite news |last1=Persinger |first1=Ryanne |title=Bring Rizzo down? Some say it's time |work=Philadelphia Tribune |date=12 Aug 2016 |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/news/bring-rizzo-down-some-say-its-time/article_857eb70c-5cf2-5c12-b95a-70163a3e0e98.html |access-date=14 March 2021 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703102643/https://www.phillytrib.com/news/bring-rizzo-down-some-say-its-time/article_857eb70c-5cf2-5c12-b95a-70163a3e0e98.html |url-status=live }} In August 2017, following the Unite the Right rally 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.{{cite news |title=Frank Rizzo statue creator says take it down if a problem |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/news/rizzo-statue-creator-says-take-it-down-if-a-problem/article_edf0e53c-7efc-5ae1-a3b5-2f5c9c19f199.html |work=Philadelphia Tribune |date=Aug 18, 2017 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615143203/https://www.phillytrib.com/news/rizzo-statue-creator-says-take-it-down-if-a-problem/article_edf0e53c-7efc-5ae1-a3b5-2f5c9c19f199.html |url-status=live }}

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Rizzo statue 2020 01.jpg

| image2 = Rizzo statue 2020 02.jpg

| image3 = Rizzo statue 2020 03.jpg

| alt1 = A sign reading “OFF THE PIGS” taped to the statue’s hand|

| alt2 = The statue graffitied and with a burning American flag attached to it with a rope

| alt3 = The feet of the statue, with fires set beneath them

| footer = The statue became a target of activists during the George Floyd protests in Philadelphia. It was removed by the city shortly afterwards.

| total_width = 250

| align = left}}

In November 2017, the city voted to remove the statue, but mayor Jim Kenney refused due to the $200,000 expense involved.{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=John |date=5 Nov 2017 |title=City decides to remove Rizzo statue |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/news/city-decides-to-remove-rizzo-statue/article_63857efc-6d97-5297-affe-20dfaead7b11.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615143206/https://www.phillytrib.com/news/city-decides-to-remove-rizzo-statue/article_63857efc-6d97-5297-affe-20dfaead7b11.html |archive-date=15 June 2020 |access-date=15 June 2020 |work=Philadelphia Tribune}}{{cite news |title=Rizzo's statue to stay put for now |work=Courier-Post|url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2018/08/10/philadelphia-mayor-frank-rizzo-statue-stay-put-now/958268002/ |agency=Associated Press |date=Aug 10, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314203319/https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2018/08/10/philadelphia-mayor-frank-rizzo-statue-stay-put-now/958268002/ |url-status=live }}{{Dead link|date=February 2025}} Following unsuccessful attempts to pull down the statue during the 2020 George Floyd protests, the mayor's office ordered its removal. The statue was placed into storage in July of that year.