NEW YORK (AP) – A statue of a 19th century doctor who did experimental surgery without anesthesia on enslaved African-American women has been removed from New York’s Central Park.
The city’s Public Design Commission voted Monday to accept a mayoral panel’s recommendation to remove the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, known as the father of modern gynecology.
It was removed Tuesday for relocation to Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, where Sims is buried, accompanied by signage with historical context.
The statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, is removed by crane, Tuesday, April 17, 2018, in New York’s Central Park. Sims was known as the father of modern gynecology, but critics say his use of enslaved African-American women as experimental subjects was unethical. The statue is being moved to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where Sims is buried. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
The New York Times says the commission’s president wept on Monday when she called for the vote.
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a review of “symbols of hate” on city property eight months ago following a white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left a person dead.
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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
Dr. Bernadith Russell hugs a friend as the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, is removed from New York’s Central Park, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Sims was known as the father of modern gynecology, but critics say his use of enslaved African-American women as experimental subjects was unethical. Russell, a gynecologist, said at the time she was in medical school, “He was held up as the father of gynecology with no acknowledgement of the enslaved women he experimented on.” (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A worker tosses a strap over the 19th century statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, Tuesday, April 17, 2018, in New York’s Central Park. Sims was known as the father of modern gynecology, but critics say his use of enslaved African-American women as experimental subjects was unethical. The statue is being moved to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where Sims is buried. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A small crowd gathers to watch as the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, is removed by crane, Tuesday, April 17, 2018, in New York’s Central Park. Sims was known as the father of modern gynecology, but critics say his use of enslaved African-American women as experimental subjects was unethical. The statue is being moved to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where Sims is buried. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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