Abraham Lincoln statues

[David Lockmiller]

(11-17-2022 10:37 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  [quote='Gene C' pid='86048' dateline='1668684241']
Here's some good news.

From Fox News, Lincoln Statue Back On Display At Cornell University Library After Abrupt Removal

https://www.foxnews.com/us/lincoln-statu...pt-removal

Weighing in on the development is Cornell University alumnus Ken Wolf, ’76, co-founder of the Cornell Free Speech Alliance and its chairman and treasurer:

This bust was the last sculpture made of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination. Ezra Cornell was a well-known abolitionist. Cornell, founded in 1865, is the only Ivy League school whose founders and early leadership had no relationship whatsoever to the institution of slavery.

So owning and displaying the Lincoln bust at Cornell was a tribute to its founder and a source of pride for many Cornellians. In August 2021, the bust was removed from the Kroch Library, allegedly on the basis of a single complaint: no discussion, no public debate, no satisfactory explanation. This was an affront to the notion of viewpoint diversity.

Due primarily to the efforts of Randy Wayne, a plant biology professor at Cornell, who waged an unwavering campaign to uncover why the bust was removed and have it returned, today it is now in a prominent location at Uris Library.

With behind the scenes efforts by the Cornell Free Speech Alliance (CFSA), many individuals and organizations wrote letters, demanding answers from the library and the administration and asking for the bust to be returned. The College Fix, which first reported the story, and at least 30 other media outlets were instrumental in applying pressure to achieve this outcome.

CFSA and its 6,000 supporters actively participated in that effort, and I believe that the great majority of Cornell’s 200,000-plus living alumni are very happy that one of the greatest historical artifacts has been returned for public display and appreciation at Cornell.

I might add that the return of the bust was conducted without fanfare or publicity, much like its removal.