The legacy of a global icon comes full circle with a statue unveiled in her Tennessee community.
A 10-foot bronze statue of the legendary Tina Turner now stands as a permanent tribute in Brownsville, Tennessee, the community where she grew up.
The statue was unveiled during the annual Tina Turner Heritage Days celebration, forever capturing the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” in the landscape of her youth, just steps from her former high school.
Sculptor Fred Ajanogha masterfully captured Turner’s electrifying stage presence, depicting her with a microphone in hand, her signature wild hairstyle, and her index finger extended in a pose familiar to fans worldwide.
He described her hair as resembling the “mane of a lion,” a fitting tribute to her powerful persona.
The monument, which took a year to create, was funded by about 50 donors, including a significant contribution from Ford Motor Co.
It stands near the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, which houses a museum in the renovated Flagg Grove School, the very one-room building where a young Anna Mae Bullock once attended classes in nearby Nutbush.
For attendees like Karen Cook, who travelled from Georgia, the unveiling was a powerful homecoming.
“She’s a great artist… It’s a big deal and a great thing for the community to have Tina Turner in her small town,” Cook shared, echoing a sentiment of pride that now stands solidified in bronze.
