of issues. roosevelt was a complicated person both in his motivations and consequences. james earl frazier was a complicated sculptor. reporter: the museum writing in 2020, in its initial removal request, the statue conveys a racial hierarchy and the museum and members of the public have long found disturbing. a city parks official calling the move incredibly rare but the right course of action. over time, the meanings of the statue really did start to change as we thought more about what our social landscape looked like. reporter: workers began dismantling it this week. roosevelt, who also served as new york s 33rd governor, was hailed as a driving force for antitrust and progressive policies and as a conservationist. but scholars says he was also an imperialist, and he said of immigrants in his 1905 message to congress, the laws now existing for the exclusion of undesirable immigrants should be strengthened. it s pretty clear that his personal opinions were quite frankly raci
complicated person in his motivations and consequences. james earl frasier is a complicated sculptor and the museum is a complicated place. reporter: the museum in the initial removal request, the museum and members of the public found disturbing. a city parks official calling the move incredibly rare but the right course of action. over time, the meanings of the statute really did start to change as we thought more what our social landscape looked like. workers began disbamantling this week. roosevelt serving as new york s 33rd governor for anti trust and pro progressive policies but he said of ill grants in the 1905 message to congress, the laws existing for the exclusion of undesirable immigrants should be strengthened. it s pretty clear his personal opinions were racist to