Colorado Artist's Monument Sparks Debate in South Carolina

BYDALIAH SINGER
JULY 30 2015, 11:40 AM

... His name is Ed Dwight ... and he's now 82 years old. In 2000, he was approached to design and build the piece as part of a bipartisan compromise: The Confederate flag would be moved from South Carolina's Capitol dome to the Confederate Monument—where it was most recently located—in exchange for resurrecting a monument on African American history in the state. The 50-foot granite sculpture, which includes 12 bronze panels that surround an obelisk and pedastal, was dedicated in March 2001. "I wrote the real history of South Carolina," Dwight says, from the slave markets in Charleston in the 1600s through the Civil War, emanicipation, and, finally, the emergence of blacks as astronauts, legislators, athletes, and more (Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Frazier, and Marian Wright Edelman all make appearances). It was built in Dwight's studio in Denver, then assembled on-site.

Now that the Confederate flag has come down, some are arguing that the monument should also be removed. The compromise, they say, has been broken. The petition, "Remove the African American Monument," on Change.org already has more than 41,000 signatures. It states, in part, "It has been stated that the battle flag must be removed due to it being offensive to the African American community, and invoking upon that community reminders of the dark history of slavery. To the same point, the African American Monument depicts slave ships, mistreatment and words such as 'segregation' and 'Jim Crow'. This being the case, it is undeniable that this monument can and does serve to invoke in the white community feelings of shame, humiliation and offense, serving as a constant reminder of the dark history of slavery" ...

http://www.5280.com/cultureandevents/digital/2015/07/colorado-artists-monument-sparks-debate-south-carolina