Did you hear about the controversial mural at North Cumberland Elementary School in Tennessee?
The mural depicts a white boy in blue hanging from a tree by a rope or strap of some kind while another fellow in red holding a confederate flag looks on. David Clark who is a janitor in a nearby school saw it and lodged a complaint with the school board who did nothing.
He then went to the superintendent who said it would be changed in February, but it didn't happen either.
Mr. Clark, who belongs to an anti-racist organization called Shelbyville Loves put it on Facebook and added the phone numbers of school officials. In 24 hours he had 500 comments and 200 shares. Later that day, the confederate flag was painted over and the lynching was taken off.
There was some opposition to its removal. Some people felt it was merely a poster about rivalry between schools. Some felt it was unpatriotic to take it down.
Others felt children didn't need to be exposed to these sort of images that recalled their racist past.
I'm reminded of the song from South Pacific, "You Have to be Carefully Taught."
You have to remember that racism is also sadly carefully taught.
The mural depicts a white boy in blue hanging from a tree by a rope or strap of some kind while another fellow in red holding a confederate flag looks on. David Clark who is a janitor in a nearby school saw it and lodged a complaint with the school board who did nothing.
He then went to the superintendent who said it would be changed in February, but it didn't happen either.
Mr. Clark, who belongs to an anti-racist organization called Shelbyville Loves put it on Facebook and added the phone numbers of school officials. In 24 hours he had 500 comments and 200 shares. Later that day, the confederate flag was painted over and the lynching was taken off.
There was some opposition to its removal. Some people felt it was merely a poster about rivalry between schools. Some felt it was unpatriotic to take it down.
Others felt children didn't need to be exposed to these sort of images that recalled their racist past.
I'm reminded of the song from South Pacific, "You Have to be Carefully Taught."
You have to remember that racism is also sadly carefully taught.
Oh, dear God. I had not heard about this but the sight of that mural made me sick to my stomach -- such a strong visceral reaction -- before I even read the rest of your post. What were they thinking?? What responsible adult could look at this and think it is okay to post in an elementary school? Or anywhere else for that matter? Thank you Mr. Clark for seeing this through.
ReplyDeleteunreal, guess some good can come out of facebook exposure!
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear about this. Absolute abhorrent! And you're right that it is subtle but needless to say its teaching racism. Glad to hear that someone took a stand!
ReplyDeleteSuch a hateful mural. I had not heard about it or I would have voiced my own objections. How can civilized people, especially educators, allow such garbage?
ReplyDeleteAll of this is being exposed!
ReplyDeleteWhat an ugly mural. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, a young boy hanging from a tree is not an image that belongs on the wall of an elementary school or anywhere.
ReplyDeleteAll of the above. Their are so many layers of ignorance in this poster. "Low hanging fruit" is the most abhorrent. The fact it was removed from public indignation, not innate sensibility is so disheartening.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible picture of unacceptable behavior. Yuck. Double yuck.
ReplyDeleteI almost guarantee when that art was originally drawn, that little boy in blue was black. It's a shame we can't deport all the rednecks to Iran.
ReplyDeletesad
ReplyDeleteIt’s pretty deeply ingrained.
ReplyDeleteI should hope that the mural has been removed!
ReplyDeleteThat was a very inappropriate mural. Some bold bigots will support such murals.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly incomprehensible that anyone would produce such a mural, let alone that a school would permit it to be displayed, and then resist its removal. Have we come nowhere? Is this really the twenty-first century?
ReplyDeleteHello David, Thank you for your visit and comment. It truly is very, very pitiful and disappointing.
DeleteWhat a shock. I cannot imagine...
ReplyDeleteThat is a horrible mural and I'm glad that he decided to post it on social media. And something got done! Thanks for telling me about this, I didn't know. :-(
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear about this either. I continue to be appalled and shocked at how much racism is still being promoted, and taught, in our country. And to think that some people there saw nothing wrong with it!!!
ReplyDeleteAt least this time, social media got something corrected. So sad that it was in the school for so long. Being a kid, or a parent of one, these days, certainly isn't as pleasant as it used to be. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteSadly, there were apparently a whole lot of people who were against taking the mural down. They felt doing so was “unpatriotic.” They didn’t see the racism. They felt the confederacy was part of their histoy and to be celebrated. Incredible.
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