This Teddy is too much to bear.
So says Upper West Sider Mike Edison, who’s on a decade-long crusade to convince the city and the American Museum of Natural History to remove a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt that he says is racist.
“When you walk into the museum it’s the first thing you see — and it smacks of white entitlement and exploitation,” charged Edison, 63, who recently launched an online petition tarnishing the bronze. “It’s indicative of ‘the white man’s burden.’ ”
The 10-foot icon, entitled “Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt,” was sculpted by James Earle Fraser in 1939. It depicts the Rough Rider proudly astride his steed, flanked by a bare chested African and Native American.
So far, the mayor and museum haven’t budged.
“It belongs to an art historical tradition of equestrian statuary and it was meant by the artist to depict exploration,” explained museum spokesman Michael Walker.
The statue is owned by the city and sits on Parks Department property. The agency did not return a request for comment.
The former president’s 154th birthday would have been yesterday.