Central Park Statue Of Doctor Who Experimented On Slaves Is Vandalized, Police Say

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A Central Park statue of a doctor who experimented on slave women was vandalized this weekend, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

On Saturday, the word "racist" was spray-painted onto the back of the statue of J. Marion Sims — hailed by some as the "father of modern gynecology" — which stands in Central Park on Fifth Avenue and East 103rd Street, police told Patch. Red paint was also splashed on the statue's head, face and neck, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

An NYPD spokesman told Patch that the department is investigating the act of vandalism.

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In the wake of a deadly white-supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville — and the anticipated creation of a commission to study New York City's "symbols of hate" — local officials want the statue removed. A monument to a man who experimented on slaves without anesthesia or informed consent should not stand in a stretch of East Harlem, officials have argued.

“We must send a definitive message that the despicable acts of James Marion Sims are repugnant and reprehensible,” Mark-Viverito said at the press conference, as reported by the Daily News.

Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the statue in a separate press conference last week, saying it would be looked at in the city's 90 day review.

"That is obviously is one of the ones that will get very immediate attention because there’s been a tremendous concern raised about it.," de Blasio said Monday.

When asked, the mayor declined to give his personal take on the statue.

Last week, activist group Black Youth Project 100 held a rally in front of the statue to draw attention to Sims' inhumane treatment of black women.

"J. Marion Sims was a gynecologist in the 1800s who purchased Black women slaves and used them as guinea pigs for his untested surgical experiments. He repeatedly performed genital surgery on Black women WITHOUT ANESTHESIA because according to him, 'Black women don't feel pain,'" the group posted on its Facebook page.

Photo by romana klee via Flickr/Creative Commons