Tupac Monuments: Statues, Streets and a Star

Tupac never received a classic monument like that of a statesman. His memorial sites are scattered: a bronze figure that disappeared, a second that was probably never finished, street signs in two cities, and a star in the sidewalk. This page organizes them and separates documented facts from rumors. The statue in Herford is covered on its own page, Statue Herford.

The First Rapper in Bronze: Stone Mountain 2005

The first Tupac monument stood in the Peace Garden of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia, founded by Afeni Shakur. More than 1,000 people attended the dedication on September 13, 2005 (NME, September 20, 2005). According to NME, this made Tupac the first rapper in bronze.

Sculptor Tina Allen created a seven-foot bronze (about 2.1 meters) on a base just under one meter high. It shows Tupac in a suit, holding his poetry book The Rose That Grew from Concrete. Rolling Stone noted his role as a guardian angel in the video for I Ain’t Mad at Cha. The figure stood in a six-acre (about 2.4-hectare) garden beside a cross-shaped pond, surrounded by poems and quotes.

In October 2007, the center was attacked several times. Unknown perpetrators placed a noose around the statue’s neck, and investigators treated it as a hate crime (report, UPI, October 24, 2007). The history of the center is recounted on the page TASF and Stone Mountain.

The Statue Disappears, the Successor Remains a Promise

When the center was sold in 2015, the family cleared the property. Rolling Stone noted in July 2016 that the statue was gone.

However, new owner Jim Burnett announced a new figure in April 2017. According to Revolt and XXL, sculptor Nijel Binns was to create a seven-foot bronze of around 1,000 pounds for approximately $500,000; the unveiling was scheduled for September 2017 on the 21st anniversary of Tupac’s death. The design showed Tupac with a bandana and a cross tattoo on his back. The announcement came during the week of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (report).

Whether this statue was ever finished is not documented. Reports from January 2020 (Atlanta Black Star, Capital XTRA) found no confirmation that it was ever completed or unveiled. The sources reviewed contain no statement from Burnett or Binns on the matter.

False News from Dallas: An Old Photo Goes Viral

On January 19, 2020, a user posted a photo of a Tupac statue on Twitter, claiming it was newly standing in Dallas. The image spread rapidly because many felt the figure looked almost nothing like Tupac. Comments ranged from mockery to outrage (Atlanta Black Star: “This Is an Insult”); someone claimed to have measured only 34 percent resemblance using facial recognition (Capital XTRA).

Both reports made it clear: what was shown was not Dallas, but the old statue from Stone Mountain, which had been removed since the sale in 2015. Thus, five years after its disappearance, the photo was circulating as false news.

Street Signs Instead of Monuments: Oakland and Baltimore

Places carry his name more easily today than statues do.

A Ten-Year Wait on the Walk of Fame

On June 7, 2023, Tupac received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, according to Billboard number 2,758 at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard. The chamber had already selected him in 2013; ten years passed until the unveiling (report).

Three Ways of Remembrance

The sites reflect three kinds of remembrance: the family with its center, cities with street names, and art that poses Tupac as a question, as in Herford. A fourth kind is technological; see Hologram. Further honors are collected on the page Tributes.