Statue of Billie Holiday

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Coordinates: 39°18′04.3″N 76°37′55.3″W / 39.301194°N 76.632028°W / 39.301194; -76.632028
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Statue of Billie Holiday
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Coordinates39°18′04.3″N 76°37′55.3″W / 39.301194°N 76.632028°W / 39.301194; -76.632028

A statue of

Baltimore, Maryland, United States.[1]

History and design

Plans for a memorial to Holiday in Baltimore began in 1971; a drug treatment centre and statue were envisioned, but only the statue was eventually built. The statue was part of the planned urban renewal of the surrounding area of Upton.[2] The Royal Theatre, where Holiday performed, originally stood diagonally opposite the statue.[1] Holiday was raised in Baltimore.[2]

The sculptor

relief panels depicting events in the African-American struggle for civil rights.[1] These panels had been rejected as too controversial at the time of the statue's unveiling in 1985, and their creation had been approved with additional funding of $76,000 in 2007.[1] The statue was rededicated in 2009 with a base of granite. At its 2009 unveiling Reid said that "[Holiday] gave such a rich credibility to the experiences of black people and the black artist".[2]

One of the panels depicts a child with its umbilical cord attached, in reference to the lyrics of Holiday's song "God Bless the Child". A second panel depicts the lynching of an African-American man in reference to the 'strange fruit hanging from strange trees' in the lyrics of Holiday's signature song "Strange Fruit".[1] In reference to the Jim Crow laws, a crow is depicted eating a gardenia. It is situated behind Holiday, and above Reid's signature.[1][3]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8018-9722-1
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Statue of Billie Holiday". Baltimore Heritage. Archived from the original on 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. ISBN 978-1-5026-1063-8
    .
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