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.”
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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.