(CNN) A statue in a Boston park depicting a formerly enslaved man kneeling before President Abraham Lincoln will be removed, according to city officials. After two public hearings, the Boston Art Commission voted to remove the Emancipation Group, a statue installed in 1879 in Boston's Park Square, according to a statement announcing the removal. The statue is a replica of one in Washington, DC, and has been controversial since its installation for the depiction of the freed slave. The statue features Archer Alexander, a Black man who "assisted the Union Army, escaped slavery, and was recaptured under the Fugitive Slave Act," the statement says. Many also feel it implies that one person ended slavery and misrepresents the complexity of United States history," the statement said.

Source: CNN July 01, 2020 16:07 UTC