CHICAGO -- A sailing ship that appears on the 150-year-old city seal of Chicago represents 'official government sanction of slavery' and must be removed, two aldermen say.
Aldermen Robert Shaw and Allan Streeter said Wednesday they will introduce a bill at next week's City Council meeting to replace the ship with a bust of the city's first permanent settler, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday.
The representation of the ship on the seal, according to city records, symbolizes 'the approach of the white man's civilization and commerce.'
'This is no small, petty gesture,' Shaw said. 'The ship represents institutionalized racism in this country. It gives the appearance of official government sanction of slavery and discrimination, not just against blacks but against all minorities.'
Shaw and Streeter want the ship removed and replaced with a cameo of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a black man who was the city's first permanent settler.
'I would be in favor of placing a bust of du Sable on the seal because he is the first Chicago citizen, the first Chicago businessman,' said Streeter. 'And had it not been for him, Chicago might not even exist.'
