Editing Stephen Foster (section)

==Statue controversy and later views==
A 1900 [[Stephen Foster (sculpture)|statue]] of Foster by [[Giuseppe Moretti]] was located in [[Schenley Plaza]], in Pittsburgh, from 1940 until 2018. On the unanimous recommendation of the Pittsburgh Art Commission, the statue was removed on April 26, 2018.<ref name=PCGoneAmok>{{cite news |title= 'Oh Susanna' songwriter's statue removed amid criticism |url= https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/oh-susanna-songwriters-statue-removed-amid-criticism-145527999.html |access-date= April 26, 2018 |agency= Associated Press |date= April 26, 2018 |archive-date= April 26, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180426202539/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/oh-susanna-songwriters-statue-removed-amid-criticism-145527999.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> Its new home has not yet been determined. It has a long reputation as the most controversial public art in Pittsburgh "for its depiction of an African-American banjo player at the feet of the seated composer. Critics say the statue glorifies white appropriation of black culture and depicts the vacantly smiling musician in a way that is at best condescending and at worst racist."<ref>{{cite news
|title=City's art commission unanimous: Statue of Stephen Foster needs to go
|first=Dan
|last=Majors
|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]
|date=October 25, 2017
|access-date=May 5, 2018
|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/10/25/Pittsburgh-art-commission-recommends-removal-controversial-Stephen-Foster-statue/stories/201710250193}}</ref> A city-appointed Task Force on Women in Public Art called for the statue to be replaced with one honoring an African American woman with ties to the Pittsburgh community. The Task Force held a series of community forums in Pittsburgh to collect public feedback on the statue replacement and circulated an online form which allowed the public to vote for one of seven previously selected candidates or write in an alternate suggestion.<ref>{{cite news |title=City wants statue of African-American woman to replace Stephen Foster monument |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2018/03/14/Pittsburgh-statue-African-American-woman-replace-controversy-racist-Stephen-Foster/stories/201803140159 |access-date=16 September 2018 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=14 March 2018}}</ref> However, the Task Force on Women in Public Art and the Pittsburgh Art Commission have not reached an agreement as to who will be commemorated or if the statue will stay in the Schenley Plaza location.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Driscoll |first1=Bill |title=Initiative To Honor Women Of Color With Public Art Sparks Debate |url=http://www.wesa.fm/post/initiative-honor-women-color-public-art-sparks-debate#stream/0 |access-date=16 September 2018 |agency=WESA |publisher=WESA |date=2 July 2018}}</ref>

The musicologist Ken Emerson has suggested that some of Foster's songs are "a source of racial embarrassment and infuriation."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126035325|title=The Lyrics and Legacy of Stephen Foster|website=NPR.org}}</ref>