Overview

• Brownsville unveiled a roughly three-meter bronze statue near the Tina Turner Museum at the former Flagg Grove High School.
• Images spread quickly on social platforms, with many users criticizing the likeness, especially the facial features and hair.
• Attribution remains unclear, with reports alternately naming sculptor Fred Ajanogha and local artist Jennifer Cannon as the creator.
• Ajanogha, in remarks reported by the New York Times and Associated Press, said he aimed to capture Turner’s movement and strength, evoking a lion’s mane and a raised finger to signal her singular status.
• The project was financed by the city alongside private donors, with AP citing about 50 sponsors, and Mayor William D. Rawls Jr. described the passionate reaction as revealing of Turner’s significance.