The weekend after next, a monument to Thaddeus Stevens - the Civil War era leader from Pennsylvania who fought against slavery and known as “The Father of the 14th Amendment” - will be unveiled and dedicated in Gettysburg.
It is the work of Alex Paul Loza - a visual artist, sculptor and educator, born in Peru and based here in Chattanooga.
From time to time over the past few years, we’ve heard from Alex as he has brought the monument to life.
We bring you a few reflections from him now, ahead of the unveiling and dedication in Pennsylvania on Saturday, April 2nd.
![The 14th Amendment is depicted in the Thaddeus Stevens monument](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8337284/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x1448+0+0/resize/880x885!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fda%2F6e%2Fdcf2427a4604a33fb8d91e65329a%2Fstevens-b.jpg)
Alex Paul Loza
![Alex Paul Loza, with a mural he created for La Paz Chattanooga](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1eaa41a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x1448+0+0/resize/880x885!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff5%2F1a%2Fc4965e664391bd726e3a9d3cb599%2Fstevens-c.jpg)
Alex Paul Loza
![Alex Paul Loza, with a mural he created for La Paz Chattanooga](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c6d78d7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x1440+0+0/resize/880x880!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5f%2F38%2F80de56444978b9b67480c0c86a15%2Falexpaulloza.jpg)
Alex Paul Loza