Looking at the photo Joe posted, the banjo players position doesn’t look in any way "subservient" to me He's sitting while he plays, but what does that mean? Pretty well any banjo players I've run into sits while they are playing. If he didn't have "black" features (of course the actual colour of both figures is exactly similar) would anyone really see that pose as "subservient"? (Is it really that possible to be subservient while playing a banjo? It's about the most in-your-face instrument that exists.)

Not so much about this statue, but about a wider point. Is there a danger that when awakened awareness of a history of racism leads to getting rid of evidence and reminders of how blatantly open it was, that is not so much because of shame, but rather because of mere embarrassment? Reminders can serve a real purpose.