News of September 13, 2005
Bronze Statue of Tupac Unveiled in the Peace Garden of Stone Mountain
Over 1,000 people came to Stone Mountain on the ninth anniversary of his death: on September 13, 2005, a bronze statue of Tupac was unveiled there.
On September 13, 2005, the ninth anniversary of his death, a bronze statue of Tupac was unveiled in the Peace Garden of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia. According to NME’s report, more than 1,000 people attended the ceremony. The publication called Tupac the first rapper to have a bronze statue dedicated to him.
A Poet in a Suit
The figure is well over two meters tall and stands on a pedestal nearly one meter high in the center of the six-acre garden, surrounded by poems and quotes from Tupac’s work. Sculptor Tina Allen depicted him in a suit, holding a copy of his poetry collection The Rose That Grew from Concrete in his hand. Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur, founder of the foundation, experienced the unveiling as moving and joyful at the same time, according to NME.
Allen said she saw many people crying at the first sight of the figure. Usually people applaud on such occasions, but here people reacted quite differently. Every generation chooses its own heroes, and for this generation, it was clearly Tupac.
What Became of the Statue
The statue did not stand there forever. When Rolling Stone reported on the end of the arts center in 2016, it was gone; the grounds had been sold and cleared. More on statues and memorial sites: Memorials and Foundation and Arts Center.