Accuracy Movement Spreading to Other Memorials
Accuracy Movement Spreading to Other Memorials
Jan 17, 2002
(NEW YORK) The New York City Fire Department commissioned a statue of the famous photo of three firemen hoisting an American flag at Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11th. While the three men in the photo are white, the statue will instead portray one white, one African-American and one Hispanic-American raising the flag. Fire Department spokesperson Frank Gribbon explained that two of the white men would be eliminated in order to "more accurately reflect" all of the firemen who died at the World Trade Center.
This new interest in accuracy is catching on around the country, and similar revisions are underway for other famous memorial statuary. At the USMC War Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, plans are already under way to alter the familiar statue - based on Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer winning photograph of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima - to more accurately reflect those who participated in military action during World War II.
While the existing statue does already depict one Native-American, it is not immediately clear to the casual observer that he is, in fact, a Native American. Therefore work is underway to replace his standard issue GI helmet with a traditional Native-American feathered headdress. In addition, plans are in the works to alter the appearance of two of the remaining four Marine, so that they appear Asian-American. According to Marine Corps spokesperson Ray Haise, this will more accurately reflect the large number of Asian-Americans having relatives who participated in the battle for Iwo Jima.
Not to be outdone in this new push for cultural accuracy, the National Park Service is already contemplating changes to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota. As with the other memorials, their goal is to alter the appearance of the monument so that it will more accurately reflect the cultural diversity of America. As explained by park spokesperson Lillian Perry-Cottocci, the memorial in its current state depicts four "straight white Protestant men" looking down upon the rest of the nation. "We want the memorial to be more inclusive, to reflect the cultural diversity of modern day America."
A three phased approach will be used gradually alter the famous memorial. Phase One of the renovation will involve changing the appearance of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, so that they appear to be Hispanic-American and African-American, respectively. Phase Two will involve Thomas Jefferson, although his new ethnicity has not yet been decided. Possible options for Jefferson include Indo-American, Arab-American, Asian-American, or Inuit-Eskimo. Phase Three will focus on George Washington. While Washington will remain decidedly European-American, he will be depicted as a woman. This is something of a compromise, as the original plans called for Washington to transformed into a trans-gender bisexual Buddhist, however this proved to be simply too difficult for the sculpting team. "If only we had the technology..." remarked Perry-Cottocci.
-- Curtis WIggins
