Statue of Slave Woman Owned by Chicago State University Is Found in the Office of an Illinois State Legislator

A bronze statue of a slave woman is now on display in the reading room on the fourth floor of the library at Chicago State University. The statue, purchased by the university for $25,000, had previously been displayed at the office of student financial aid. When the office of student aid was closed, the statue was taken to a warehouse.

Last summer Arnold Jordan, who headed the office of student financial aid, went to the warehouse to retrieve his personal items. He saw the statue, which he said was in an unkempt room. He took the statue to the office of Illinois state representative Monique Davis, who is Jordan’s girlfriend. The statue was kept behind closed doors in her legislative office.

When a reporter broke the story that the statue was in Representative Davis’ office, she stated she was just storing it there for safekeeping until the university found the proper place to display it. But university officials said the statue had been removed without permission. On several occasions, university workers were dispatched to Davis’ office but she would not relinquish the statue. Finally, after the story appeared in the Chicago newspapers and on local television, Davis agreed to return the statue to the university.

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