USC founder Judge Robert Maclay Widney’s statue has been missing since Nov. 28, 2023, when it and an informative plaque were taken away for “maintenance and cleaning,” according to the University. Widney’s 11-month disappearance has sparked questions and concerns from some of his descendants. 

The Daily Trojan spoke to Barbara Braden, a descendant of Widney, who said the University told her that the current plan is to bring Widney’s statue back alongside three other statues of founding donors.

The University did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Trojan. 

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Before its removal, the 8-foot-tall bronze statue stood in front of the Widney Alumni House. Widney was seen as a controversial figure due to his work as the leader of the Law and Order party, a vigilante group that is tied to the lynching of a man in the late 1800s. 

On Aug. 29, 2014, former USC President C.L. Max Nikias unveiled the Widney statue on the front steps of the Widney Alumni House. More than 30 descendants of Widney, including Barbara Braden, stood among USC trustees, senior leadership, the marching band and other members of the USC community in attendance.

“It was just a happy moment for USC and our family to know that one of our relatives had done such a wonderful thing,” Barbara Braden said. “If you look from then until now at what USC has done, they’ve done marvelous things that wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for him.”

Barbara Braden’s paternal grandmother, Evelyn Widney Braden, was the great-niece of Joseph Widney, Robert Widney’s younger brother. 

A chief architect of Los Angeles, real estate promoter and judge, Robert Widney was responsible for USC’s birth and growth. In the late 1870s, Robert Widney secured the land for USC from his real estate partners: Ozro W. Childs, Isaias W. Hellman and John G. Downey.

The University plans to create statues of Childs, Hellman and Downey given their importance in USC’s founding. Childs was a horticulturist, Hellman was a banker and philanthropist, and Downey was a pharmacist and businessman. 

According to Trina Braden, Barbara Braden’s mother, these three men were well-rounded, respectable people that she would like to see honored alongside Widney’s statue. 

“It would be nice if there were artistic remembrances of the four who founded [USC],” Trina Braden said. 

Barbara Braden said she wants the University to prioritize putting Widney’s statue back up as soon as possible.

“I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Barbara Braden said. “I want that statue in front of the house. That’s what it was dedicated for, and that’s where it needs to be because it could be years from now before they get anything else.”

During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, companies, universities and institutions began revisiting their past. In June 2020, former USC president Rufus von KleinSmid — a eugenicist —  had his name removed from the now-named Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow Center for International & Public Affairs. At that time, Widney’s past was also called into question by members of the USC community. 

“In my mind, the controversy has to do with the brother, Joseph, not with Robert,” Trina Braden said. 

Joseph Widney, Robert Widney’s younger brother, founded the University’s medical school and served as its first dean for eleven years before becoming USC’s second president. 

He also published a book in 1907 titled “Race Life of the Aryan Peoples.” In it, he argued that white and Black people “cannot live together as equals.” 

Barbara Braden said Robert Widney’s statue should be reinstalled so that people can understand for themselves who he was.

“They may not like what he did, but if it wasn’t for them, it wasn’t for the Widneys and the other folks, there would not be a USC,” Barbara Braden said. “There would not be a USC football team or basketball team or all the good things they do across the world.”

Nathan Chan, a freshman majoring in political science, was recently tasked to do a general research project for his English class entitled “Los Angeles: the City, the Novel, the Movie,” in which he learned about the history of the Widney statue. Chan said putting the statue back after removing may reignite conversations surrounding Robert Widney’s past. 

“The issue is, whenever you remove something, bringing it back becomes 1,000 times harder, because now it’s a statement to put it back, whereas before it was just the status quo to leave it up because it was already up,” Chan said. 

George Braden, Barbara Braden’s father and the son of Evelyn Widney Braden, said the Widneys believe in strong family ties and wish goodwill to all people. 

“They saw the vision and opportunity to do good and set an example of themselves to everyone else,” George said. 

It remains unclear when exactly Widney will come back to campus, but odds are he’ll be accompanied by some old friends.