Erasing Arizona: Dark-skinned Mural Faces Ordered “Lightened” to Appease Bigotry

Published on Saturday, June 5, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
Erasing Arizona: Dark-skinned Mural Faces Ordered “Lightened” to Appease Bigotry

by Randall Amster


It is difficult to fully explain the impacts of Arizona's burgeoning and overt anti-immigrant climate these days. To outsiders it must seem like either the inmates have finally taken over the asylum, or alternatively that someone is finally standing up to an inept federal government. To those of us living here, it further appears as either a formalized decree of misguided policies that have long been in place below the radar, or a chance to finally push a brewing agenda to its logical and necessary extreme on a statewide scale. While all of these sentiments possess a kernel of truth, more to the point is that Arizona today has in many ways simply become a veritable theater of the absurd.

To wit: legalizing racial profiling, banning ethnic studies, dismissing teachers with accents, lauding "ethnic cleansing" policies, militarizing the border, seeking to abolish the 14th Amendment (the one that makes the bill of rights applicable to the states and makes anyone born here a citizen), and more. Still, all of this pales (pun intended) to a recent localized atrocity that speaks volumes to the climate of antipathy and purification being plied here in the desert. In a twisted feat of modernized and imposed "passing," artists in Prescott have been pressured to "lighten" the dark-skinned faces on a just-completed public mural due to a backlash inspired by a city council member who said that he failed to see "anything that ties the community into that mural."

In other words, the appearance of a brown-skinned face in the mural is not reflective of the community - despite the fact that demographic data indicates that people of color comprise over 15% of the regional population, and that in Arizona as a whole this demographic represents an estimated one-third of the state's inhabitants. In fact, and as a partial explanation for the mural flap, a 2008 population trend study commissioned by Yavapai College shows that the percentage of nonwhite residents in the area has doubled in the last twenty years and is continuing to rise. Mirroring patterns seen statewide, one can sense the backlash from people attempting to maintain the "old guard" status quo of well-defined power and race relations in the face of rapid change, as reflected in this comment from Prescott City Councilman and local radio host Steve Blair about the disputed mural:

"I am not a racist individual, but I will tell you depicting a black guy in the middle of that mural, based upon who's president of the United States today and based upon the history of this community when I grew up, we had four black families - who I have been very good friends with for years - to depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person, I would have to ask the question, 'Why?'" ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/06/05-1

but now I'm going to explain myself and show you what a racist I really am...."

Really? They honestly want to kick the children of immigrant families out? And send them where? Back to the country of their parents? Would that country recognize them as citizens? What if they've never been there and don't know anyone or have someone to care for them? Is it me or does this seem particularly cruel?

Along with all the other outrageous crap going on of course.

I never thought I'd live to see the day that public figures would proudly declare their racism. Odd that seems to be the result of having elected President Obama. The amount of racist, sexist crap bandied about in the media and even by politicians since the 2008 election has been more and more offensive than all I have witnessed in my entire life. It's shameful. We need to fight it loudly.

you're a racist, racist.

and dumber as time moves on. k&r

Why put a black child as the largest face? He's not the majority, he's "other". He's not "typical," he's "other." He's not like I am, he's "other," he's not a human being with a life and people who love him and a family and dreams and desires and fears and the need to be enveloped and welcomed by all his fellow humans, he's OTHER.

My heart hurts for those kids, for all kids, the ones who are labeled "other" and those who are being taught to label them. What a loss to us all.