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Artist Asked to Paint Children's Faces 'A Lighter Color' in Arizona School Mural?
A new mural at a public school in Prescott, Arizona is now the topic of an intense debate about color and censorship.
The artists say the mural they painted is supposed to show the diversity of the kids at the elementary school but following comments by a city council member, the school principal asked the artist to paint the kids' faces a lighter color.
The mural was painted on the wall of the Miller Valley Elementary School, at the corner of the busiest intersection in Prescott.
The controversy was sparked by a comment City Councilman Steve Blair made on his radio show two weeks ago.
"To depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person -- I would have to ask the question why," he said on The Steve Blair Show on KYCA.
After the radio show, the school principal asked the mural artists, a group called Mural Mice, to lighten the boy's face.
"When we began to paint the picture, nobody really thought about the color of the skin on the kids," says artist R.E. Wall.
The project's leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints about the children's ethnicity.
Between Arizona's recent immigration law, the erasure of ethnic studies in AZ schools, and the slew of racial slurs the artists and students endured while making the mural, to be the guy who denies racism exists here just makes his racism all the more obvious.
What Do You Think????
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/05/artist-asked-...
10 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
AZ has always been known to be a racist state.
They were the dead LAST state to recognize MLK's birthday as a Holiday
- ?Lv 61 decade ago
I think that if the people that wanted 'lighter' children in the artwork had been paying attention when the contest took place for which students would be posing for the picture then they might have an issue. (MIGHT)
Here are the racial demographics from Prescott, Arizona
White alone - 36,138 (86.6%)
Hispanic - 3,460 (8.3%)
American alone - 689 (1.7%)
Asian alone - 661 (1.6%)
Two or more races - 498 (1.2%)
Black alone - 142 (0.3%)
Other race alone - 142 (0.3%)
One would think that if 86.6% of the population was concerned about being represented they could have participated.
I live in a very 'white' area and often I see people trying to be politely inclusive by putting 'minority' people in articles and public service pamphlets (specifically sexual behaviour ones). I think that the pictures in all this type of stuff should be inclusive based on actual population- then, there would be no problems.
In the particular case of this art- they should have participated. They didn't. So, some brown kids are up there, so what?
- ?Lv 61 decade ago
I really want to know how somebody could ask, on air no less, why a mural depicts a black person, and then have the gall to claim that the question "wasn't about race"?
Source(s): I'm also entertained by the CNN reporter's reaction to the muralists hats. - Angela QLv 71 decade ago
I read this story when it happened. Yes, it was racist of parents to demand that the mural depict only white kids in an overwhelmingly Hispanic school, and it was gutless of the school to tell the artist to change the ethnicity of the students. But mostly it was exploitative of media outlets like Fox, because most of the "complaining parents" actually did not live in the district or in the state. ∠°)
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- Anonymous1 decade ago
It depends - was the person depicted holding up a liquor store or receiving a diploma?
(its racist to try to prejudge what you believe I'm thinking)
- 1 decade ago
I think they are right in asking the colors be changed. While there is no doubt we are a nation of diversity, to hold out a minority as a dominant is biased and slanted.
Source(s): . Gork - ?Lv 51 decade ago
first off Arizona's law isn't new... its one the entire united states has been refusing to enforce for political reasons...
second off .. I wouldn't jump to the hyperbole that it was blatant racism.. there is obviously more to this story.
