Source: Ben Birchall – PA Images / Getty
Artist Bryce Cobbs unveiled his life-sized design for a statue of Henrietta Lacks to replace Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Roanoke, Virginia Dec. 19.
Cobbs shared his excitement in commemorating such a historically and medically impactful figure at a press conference on Monday.
“The fact that I’m involved in this project means the world,” said Cobbs, according to WXHC. “I’m humbled to be a part of history in this way and just to be trusted with the task of making sure that I just captured Mrs. Henrietta Lacks the best way I could.”
The illustration will be the reference image for sculptor Larry Bechtel, who will use bronze to further bring Lacks’ likeness to life.
Roanoke will place the sculpture in Henrietta Lacks Plaza, formerly Lee Plaza, in October 2023.
The statue of the Confederate general that once stood in the area was removed in 2020 amid the wake of the racial unrest following George Floyd’s murder.
Henrietta Lacks’ Impact
A Roanoke, Virginia native, Lacks has helped shape modern medicine in an immeasurable way.
Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital to receive treatment for cervical cancer in 1951 and had a sample of her cells taken without her consent by a gynecologist for research.
Lacks passed away months later, but the cells pulled from her sample lived on.
Dubbed “HeLa” cells, Lacks’ sample included “immortal” cells that would multiply every 24 hours, which scientists hadn’t seen before.
Medical advances toward the polio vaccine, coronavirus vaccines, cancer treatments, AIDS treatments and more all spawned thanks to HeLa cells. And scientists estimate Lacks’ contribution has saved millions of lives.
“This is very exciting and I will be looking forward to the unveiling and the finishing sculpture that will honor her forever in this beautiful city of Roanoke, where my grandmother was born,” said Lacks’ grandson, Ron, at Monday’s press conference.
RELATED CONTENT: “Henrietta Lacks’ Estate Has Not ‘Seen A Dime’ From The Pharmaceutical Company That Stole Her Cells
