If you've heard of the recent controversy around the removal of the Theodore Roosevelt Statue from Central Park in New York City, or even if you heard about the Theodore Roosevelt Statue at some time in the past, but had not seen it, you might think it was a statue of Theodore Roosevelt, and no one else, because that is the usual meaning of the word statue:
Upon seeing it, you might be surprised to find that actually three people are represented in this sculpture, and that is the proper term for it, the named Teddy Roosevelt, on his horse, has an unnamed Native American and an unnamed African trailing behind him. That makes this sculpture a homage to white supremacy, calling it the "Theodore Roosevelt Statue" is to fail to acknowledge, or to refuse to acknowledge, the other two people depicted in this sculpture. That makes referring to it as the "Theodore Roosevelt Statue" racist. It's really that simple.
Clay Claiborne
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