Hurley Opinion: Disgraceful Removal of Frank Rizzo Statue

The iconic bronze statue of former Philadelphia mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo was removed in the dark and cover of night at 2:00 a.m. this morning.

It’s a despicable move. I would usually give the benefit of the doubt, except for the fact that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has been against the Rizzo statue for a long time.

Kenney said that “anger and the stress that people of color have in this country. That statue was representative of that era and had to go away in order for us to understand where we need to go going forward," Kenney said.

Yes, Kenney has resorted to labeling the late former mayor and police commissioner (Rizzo) as being a racist.

Kenney continued, "Nothing against him personally. I was not a fan of the statue. I've said it before. There's no mayor that has a statue of him or her - of him, there's no hers yet, hopefully some day there will be - and I don't want a statue of me ever anywhere, not that anyone would care to put one up. I don't think that's appropriate and I think it was kind of foisted on the city 20 years ago. We're moving on from that era," said Kenney.

The Rizzo statue is a 10-foot-tall bronze statue that was erected in 1998. It was funded by Rizzo Family members and donations by the community.

Yesterday, Kenney signed an executive order which directed the city managing director to immediately remove the Rizzo statue.

Of course, in the most cowardly manner, they removed the Rizzo statue when no one was looking in the dark of night.

At different times during his career, Rizzo was a registered Democrat, Republican and Independent.

Rizzo was either a revered or reviled figure, depending on your own personal view.

The redaction of various parts of American history continues to take place at the hands of radical Democrat Socialists.

They Believe that it is their right to rewrite history. They’re dangerous and they bear watching.