Replacing the Stephen Foster Statue

In October 2017, the city of Pittsburgh decided to remove a statue dedicated to famous American musician, Stephen Foster due to its racist overtones. Claiming that he was inspired by African American slave rhythms, the statue posed Foster sitting above a barefoot, banjo playing slave. For six months, there was no plan for what would replace the statue. In January, I posted a sign asking the community to contribute suggestions for an Influential African American musician (of which there are many from Pittsburgh) to be the replacement.

This sparked media attention and initiated the formation of an official committee that proposed that the replacement was to be one of seven African American women of influence from Pittsburgh.

An online survey was made so that the community could vote. However, knowing the effectiveness of signage at the site, I constructed and placed a biographical sign for each woman around the statue.

On April 26, 2018, the statue was removed but the signs were put back in its place. They remained up until August 13, 2018 and helped garner attention from over a dozen local and national news sources.

↑Back to Top