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Boston City Councilor calls for creation of statue honoring Crispus Attucks

“The world should know more of how Black Boston contributed to America's history, and Crispus Attucks, as the first Patriot, is one of the finest examples of that."

A gravestone marks the burial place at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston of those killed in the March 5, 1770, shooting by British soldiers known as the Boston Massacre. Steven Senne / AP, File

By Dialynn Dwyer

March 4, 2024

1 minute to read

Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell on Monday issued a call for the creation of a standalone statue in the city honoring Crispus Attucks, who was killed in the Boston Massacre.

Attucks was one of the five killed when British soldiers fired into the crowd of colonists on March 5, 1770. A sailor with African and Indigenous ancestry, Attucks is considered by the city to be the first casualty of the American Revolution and a hero for his leadership in confronting the British on the day of the massacre.

“It’s beyond time for Boston to recognize Crispus Attucks more formally,” Worrell said in a statement on Monday. “He was an accomplished sailor and advocate for human rights before he died. The world should know more of how Black Boston contributed to America’s history, and Crispus Attucks, as the first Patriot, is one of the finest examples of that.”

Worrell said Monday that he has filed an order for Wednesday’s City Council meeting to explore the process and potential costs for creating a statue honoring Attucks. Last year, Mayor Michelle Wu declared March 5 as Crispus Attucks Day in Boston, and Worrell said he has also filed a resolution that would, retroactively, declare Tuesday as Crispus Attucks Day.

Haroon A. Rashid, president of the Friends of Crispus Attucks Association, issued a statement in support of establishing a standalone statue honoring Attucks. The sailor’s name, along with the four others killed in the Boston Massacre, adorns a memorial on Boston Common.

“Crispus Attucks is a historical Boston martyr for equal human rights, who sacrificed his life as the 1st American Revolutionary War Patriot,” Rashid said in a statement. “It is only fitting that in the 21st century, the era of multicultural global inclusion, that there should be erected a life-size standalone statue in the downtown location of Boston and that citizens and tourists alike on March 5 each year should find ways to honor and commemorate Attucks’ sacrifice on Crispus Attucks Day in the City of Boston.”