The controversy of these murals goes back to the time of the American Revolution with George Washington as the icon of American freedom. Despite the fact that Washington was the icon of American freedom and liberty, he himself did struggle with the concept of slavery. He expressed his disapproval of the idea of slavery while still possessing over 100 slaves. Regarding his views of Native Americans, Washington was notorious for his command to his army during the Revolution to destroy Iroquois lands in the hopes that they would leave. The result? Forty burned Iroquois towns, orchards uprooted and cut down, thousands of bushels of corn destroyed, and an Iroquois famine. These inherent disparities between how Washington viewed white bodies as superior to all other bodies of color is evident in the frescoes at the high school (seen below).
Painted by Victor Arnautoff, his frescoes were intended to be critical of Washington’s racism.
Advocates against the mural state that the murals are racist and are harmful to black and Native American students who have to see these depictions every day in the halls. Others who oppose the covering of the murals state that painting over the murals or destroying them would be harmful to censorship.
On a 4-3 vote, the board came to a decision to hide the murals from view, but not to destroy them.
Despite the finality of the decision, the vote has still opened up a discussion of whether or not depictions of violence against any minority continues to perpetuate their oppression or spread awareness on the history of their oppression. I personally haven’t come to a final opinion on the matter as I do see both sides to this story, and I am torn. If there was a mural of Vincent Chin’s brutal murder (a Chinese-American, mistaken to be Japanese, killed in the ‘80s during a time of resentment against Japan for “stealing” American autoworkers' jobs) hanging at our school, I’d probably feel disturbed and traumatized, and it would stunt my ability to learn. Nonetheless, I would also feel a sense of solace knowing that his death and the violence against him and people who looked like him would be recognized.
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/arts/san-francisco-murals-george-washington.html
Hi Angelina,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I agree that I am torn between whether or not the murals should have been taken down. There have been many instances of debate over taking down historical monuments/paintings/public displays that showcase controversial parts of American history. For example, the long argument to remove Confederate statues and monuments. However, a key detail that distinguishes this instance is that the Confederate statues specifically honor controversial figures. I assume that the artist who painted the George Washington murals was not trying to glorify Washington's actions, but rather critique them. Despite this, due to the graphic nature of the paintings, I think it would be wrong to keep them up in an educational environment if some students were affected. It is still important to remember the artists' message and not ignore the unflattering details of American history just because they might be disturbing.
Angelina,
ReplyDeleteUntil reading your post, I had no idea this was an issue happening in San Francisco! I agree that this is a very difficult stance to take, but in my opinion, I feel that these murals ultimately should be taken down. As I was first reading your blog post, I was torn as well, but after reading your example about the Chinese- American being murdered, I realized that I would feel very uncomfortable if I had to see a mural like that everyday (as I am Chinese-American myself). This made me see the mural in a different light, and I feel that displaying a racist and controversial mural in a school environment where students could potentially feel disturbed and uncomfortable is wrong. However, informing people and spreading awareness about our country's bloody history is still very important. Do you think there are any better ways to make sure people are aware of past oppression of minorities?
I think that all schools should include the controversial parts of American history in their curriculum. We are lucky that we do get to learn about it in our textbooks; however, I do know that in other parts of America the textbooks are different and oppression of minorities is not talked about enough.
DeleteI agree that it is difficult to take a firm stance on either side of the issue because there are valid points on both sides of censorship and racism. In my opinion, I agree with the decision of the vote and believe the murals should be taken down, but not destroyed. It isn't necessary to destroy the murals, but if blatantly displaying them in public places makes people feel uncomfortable at all, they should be taken down if the overall effect of displaying the murals is negative. This event is similar to the debate about whether Jackson's portrait should be on the $20 bill. His life was controversial and in many ways harmed various groups including the Natives and African American slaves, yet some of his policies were beneficial. Similarly, Washington owned slaves, yet he is seen as a positive, symbolic figure of America.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/opinion/should-jackson-stay-on-the-dollar20-bill.html