Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 Week 43
I first came to know about Lincoln Park after our son and his family moved to DC. I liked the green space in the middle of the city block and was intrigued by the two statues in the park. But I have cringed every time I saw one of the the statues ‘The Emancipation Statue’ of Lincoln and a free slave at his feet. (Oops! I just noticed my spelling mistake in sketch !) So it did not surprise me in October 18, 2020 when we were visiting, that there was a raging debate about replacing or removing the statue. As everywhere else there was a fence around the statue and notes were left on the fence by people expressing their opinions or supporting’Black Lives Matter.’ On our walk that day, I saw in one of the old red fire and call boxes near the park, a prototype of replacement sculpture that showed Barack Obama and Lincoln, with miniature flags flanking the two presidents. Unfortunately, I do not know who the artist is.
Replace the Emancipation Memorial
When I went to sketch it later in the Smithsonian Engagement 2020, I was tickled to see the photograph for the week. ‘36 Takeouts, Groceries, and Restaurants in Wards 7 and 8 Washington DC, 2018’ by Susana Raab. A photographer at the Anacostia Community Museum, Raab cataloged urban stores in the neighborhoods east of Anacostia River in Washington DC. Lincoln park is ward 6.
