BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A community activist says he has gathered more than 6,000 signatures to replace a large sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. in a western New York park.
Samuel Herbert tells WIVB-TV his goal is to get 10,000 signatures and a new statue by 2020.
He says the 8-foot bust of King that sits in a namesake park in Buffalo doesn’t look like the civil rights leader. The statue was unveiled in 1983.
While the original artist says the bust was supposed to be a representation, Herbert says, “enough of the symbolism, we want realism.”
Herbert says he will start fundraising after reaching his signature goal.
He says he’s prepared to take his battle to have the statue removed to court, if required.