大象传媒

As a 19th century entrepreneur who became rich by extending New Haven's port and allowing it to compete with New York, William Lanson sounds exactly the type of person you'd expect to be memorialised with a public sculpture.

But as a former slave, it wasn't to be - and his success eventually led to jealousy, his downfall, and his death as a pauper.

It's an injustice that black sculptor Dana King now intends to right by unveiling a sculpture to him - as part of a personal campaign to place black people back into US history. She says when the statue is dedicated, the mayor of New Haven will apologise for his treatment:

"The white establishment decided he had too much power, too much access, too much money, and they took it all from him, and William Lanson died in the poor house."

(Photo: The unfinished statue of William Lanson by Dana King - taken on 1 September. Credit: Reuters)