Statue of Kate Smith

Statue of Kate Smith
The statue in 2017
ArtistMarc Mellon
Year1987 (1987)
MediumBronze sculpture
SubjectKate Smith
Location

A statue of singer Kate Smith (1907–1986) by Marc Mellon was installed outside Philadelphia's Stateside Live!, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, until 2019 when it was removed due to Smith having previously performed songs with racially insensitive lyrics.

Description and history

The 8-foot (2.4 m) bronze sculpture was commissioned by the Philadelphia Flyers and unveiled on October 8, 1987, a year after Smith's death. The statue was erected as a tribute to Smith as a result of her regularly singing "God Bless America" before Flyers games during the 1970s. Smith first sang the pre-game song in 1969 because the team owner wanted it instead of "The Star Spangled Banner" when fans exhibited ambivalence toward the national anthem.

The statue was placed in storage in 2010 because of the demolition of the Spectrum arena. It was later reinstalled outside the newly built Philly Live! arena.

On April 21, 2019, the statue was removed due to the controversy of some Smith's renditions of songs that contained racist language, including "That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven".

Flyers' General Manager Paul Holmgren announced the move, stating: "The NHL principle ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ is at the heart of everything the Flyers stand for. As a result, we cannot stand idle while material from another era gets in the way of who we are today". Her family responded by denying the allegations and argued that Paul Robeson popularized some of those songs, and that they were satirical in nature. The Flyers and the New York Yankees baseball team also announced that they would no longer play recordings of Smith's versions of "God Bless America" as a result.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Philadelphia Flyers plan to erect..." Chicago Tribune. June 7, 1987. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ Tornoe, Rob (April 19, 2019). "Flyers cover Kate Smith statue, dump 'God Bless America' over past racist songs". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Kate Smith statue removed, Flyers ax her 'God Bless America' after racist songs come to light". NBC Sports Philadelphia. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Philadelphia Flyers remove Kate Smith statue over racism allegations". The Guardian. April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ Winkler, Sheldon (May 8, 2019). The Music of World War II: War Songs and Their Stories. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-359-64779-8. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Levenson, By Doug Criss, Jill Martin and Eric (April 21, 2019). "The Philadelphia Flyers remove a statue of Kate Smith over her racist songs". CNN. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Kate Smith Goes Into Storage As Spectrum Demolition Nears". CBS. October 28, 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  8. ↑ Panaccio, Tim (October 12, 2016). "Flyers at 50: The story behind the tradition of Kate Smith's 'God Bless America'". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Katz, Brigit. "Philadelphia Flyers Remove Statue of Singer Kate Smith Amid Allegations of Racism". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on May 7, 2026. Retrieved May 11, 2026.