NYT cries over removal of hideous blue stickman statue from Kennedy Center after celebrating removal of beautiful, historical statues for years

During the BLM era of statue removals, the Times did not cry over the taking down and dismantling of beautiful bronze equestrian statues and others, they praised it. "Blue" is not a historical work. It was made by Joel Shapiro and gifted to the institution in 2019. As of Wednesday, it was being dismantled piece by piece.

The work, reveals the Times, had been targeted for removal by the Trump administration when he returned to office in 2025 and began his remake of the Kennedy Center, including adding his name to the building. As the piece was removed, its segments were "wrapped in protective material," and "an arm was the first to be removed." No such ceremony was granted to the sculpture of Stonewall Jackson that was removed from Charlottesville in the BLM era that saw hundreds of statues signifying America's past removed from city centers and institutions.

The bronze Stonewall Jackson statue was made by Charles Keck and was gifted to the Virginia city by a philanthropist in 1921. When it was removed, it was given to a gallery in LA, which in turn gave it to artist Kara Walker, who dismembered it and turned it into a "mutant" to combat "white supremacy." Shapiro's "Blue" will not suffer that same fate.

The Kennedy Center has given the statue to a foundation that is dedicated to Shapiro and that foundation will determine the next life and exhibit options for the giant stick man. "We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years 'Blue' has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision. We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and part of his enduring legacy," said the Kennedy Center when removing the work.

His daughter isn't happy about it. She said, "In Joel's mind, it was one of his greatest site-specific commissions, which celebrated joy, freedom and creativity." The former curator of visual arts and special programming at the Kennedy Center, who was let go in March, said "The Kennedy Center is in effect holding these pieces in trust for the American people and there should be a lot more transparency."

No such consideration was given for the countless statues that were removed from American cities during the BLM era under the guise of combatting white supremacy. Activists, the Times said, complained about Shapiro's "Blue" being removed. Hands Off the Arts posted "First they came for the facade and now they come for the grounds," referencing Trump adding his name to the building while undertaking a massive renovation. The group held a protest with a drag queen dancing around in front of the statue.

The Times ran at least three articles praising the dismantling of Stonewall Jackson and the remaking of it by Walker. Of the remade work from Walker, the Times wrote admiringly of not just the work but the effort to tear down art, saying that the exhibit was "radically new."

When activists in New York successfully petitioned to have the statue of President Theodore Roosevelt removed from in front of the Museum of Natural History, which he commissioned, the Times reported that "the equestrian memorial to Theodore Roosevelt has long prompted objections as a symbol of colonialism and racism."

"The decision," wrote the Times, "proposed by the museum and agreed to by New York City, which owns the building and property, came after years of objections from activists and at a time when the killing of George Floyd has initiated an urgent nationwide conversation about racism."

The thoughtful, careful removal of Shapiro's "Blue" as the Kennedy Center undergoes renovations, and the likely replacement of that piece of public art with another that perhaps has more aesthetic value, is something the Times finds objectionable. But when it comes to destroying American history, they've been all for it.