Let’s Build a Colossal Statue of Justice on Alcatraz Island
Why a colossal statue?
Great civilizations, including the United States, have for thousands of years erected colossal statues to celebrate victory in war, prosperity in peace, or to promote civic values.
Why Justice?
The guarantee of liberty and justice for all is America’s noblest aspiration - taught to schoolchildren, invoked by community leaders, and exemplified by countless acts of valor and service since America’s founding. While the Statue of Liberty has since 1886 honored and celebrated America’s commitment to freedom, America lacks a similar monument to Justice. Blindfolded and with her scale and sword in hand, impartial Justice protects and defends Liberty.
Why Alcatraz?
Alcatraz’ history as America’s most famous prison and icon of Native American resilience makes it an ideal location for reflections on the importance of justice to America’s national identity. Like Liberty Island in New York, Alcatraz Island is federally owned, belonging to all the states. As Lady Liberty welcomes visitors to America from across the Atlantic ocean, so too would Lady Justice gaze through the Golden Gate and across the Pacific.
Why now?
In 1875, one year before America’s centennial, Frenchmen Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Édouard René de Laboulaye announced plans to erect a statue of liberty to celebrate America’s commitment to freedom. French citizens would pay for the statue if Americans paid for its pedestal. Liberty Enlightening the World opened ten years later and instantly became one of the most recognizable symbols on earth and a testament to the spirit of not only the United States, but of the entire Free World. Today, one year from America’s sesquicentennial, or 250th anniversary, Americans and citizens from our democratic allies in the Pacific should commit themselves to erecting another colossal statue—a Colossus of Justice—on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay.
