DOUGLAS — The Chicago Park District will unveil a new statue of Paul Laurence Dunbar on Saturday.
But for now, it's wrapped up tight.
The statue by Debra Hand will be dedicated at 2:30 p.m. at Dunbar Park, 200 E. 31st St.
Hand is one of the most-commissioned black sculptors in Chicago and has made statues of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and others. Originally discovered by DuSable Museum founder Margaret Burroughs, her work is now preserved in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd), Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) and Ald. Will Burns (4th) are expected to join Park District officials to unveil the new statue at the 20-acre park.
The park was named in 1966 for Dunbar, one of the first black novelists and poets to be widely read and acclaimed by both white and black audiences. The park sits next to the Chicago Public High School also named after him.
He made at least one trip to the neighborhood to read his poetry at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park before his death in 1906 at the age of 33.
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