Embrace slave statue as a learning experience

By Mildred Strong

I felt a sense of vindication as I read the article by Carlton Waterhouse, "Beyond Guilt and Shame," Aug. 21. He spoke so eloquently to my sentiments. Why would you be ashamed of the millions of Africans who were enslaved in this country? Rather the shame should be on a nation that labeled a people as sub-human for material gain.

My grandfather was a slave until he was 8 years old. He was a man of innate intelligence, integrity and determination, not because of slavery, but in spite of it. He was also a man of faith despite the indignities he experienced in a "Christian nation."

Beyond guilt and shame: Sculpture of freedman can help us honor, acknowledge history

Written by Carlton M. Waterhouse

Recent conversations about the proposed sculpture of a freedman originally planned to be placed near the City-County Building in Indianapolis reflect an unhealthy pattern of dealing with this critical aspect of our history that needs to be broken; a pattern that focuses on feelings of guilt, shame and apathy.

These naturally flow from the ignorance that most Americans have about enslaved Africans as people and about slavery as an institution. Although "the peculiar institution" represented a central aspect of America's political, economic and social identity, most Americans have a very limited knowledge of the people who were enslaved or the critical contributions they made to the development and progress of the nation. In effect, slavery has been relegated to the shadows of our shared memory. As a result, many of us have strong emotional responses of shame or guilt about the subject without much knowledge or the benefit of diverse perspectives.

Much of the discussion has been about how a "slave image" will make some people feel. The strong implication has been that images or monuments of freed or enslaved Africans are not inspirational but shameful. I understand where such views come from. I held them myself before I learned that enslaved Africans were people with lives, hopes and dreams, and not just victims of a brutal system.

Public Art vs. the Public in Indianapolis

A work of public art is causing a stir in Indianapolis — and it hasn’t even gone up yet. The dispute involves a monument of a freed slave that was supposed to be placed in downtown Indianapolis. The work, “E Pluribus Unum,” is by the celebrated African-American artist Fred Wilson.

Wilson based his figure of the freed slave from the city’s Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Memorial, made in 1902. Positioned at the base of the older monument, the man is shirtless, sitting down, and holding up a flag. Wilson, who is known for recontextualizing existing art objects, tells Kurt Andersen that he wanted to replicate the figure but give him a prominent place of his own nearby, “so that he is a person, he is a man, and he can represent something else, something positive.”

Let's keep connecting on sculpture project

Written by Brian Payne

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick was created as a vehicle to help us connect -- with Downtown's cultural districts and venues, with diverse neighborhoods, with meaningful public artworks and with the many other trails and greenways our city proudly offers. It was also created to help us connect with each other.

Just the potential of a new art installation on the trail -- Fred Wilson's "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of Many, One) -- has helped many people connect in ways that likely would not have happened before. Wilson's inspiration is an existing figure on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. He proposes giving this maligned figure a new life by placing it in a prominent location where anyone, from any walk of life, could engage in meaningful discussions about the artwork. Or anything else they wish to share.

Why we oppose the slave image

The Citizens Against Slave Image (CASI) would like to extend its deepest gratitude to those who have stood with us and made their voices heard. We are grateful for the widespread support that we have received from across racial, political and religious lines, as was quite evident at last Saturday's community rally.

We thank Indianapolis Mayor Gregory A. Ballard and the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) for their decision not to place the proposed public art at the City-County Building.

Sculpture can foster dialogue about race

Written by Maxwell L. Anderson 

Public art at its best and most meaningful is a source of discussion -- discussion about issues of common, public concern. Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C., a figurative scar in the earth, was reviled by many at its 1982 dedication, because it lacked positive attributes about the soldiers who gave their lives. Today it is among the most acclaimed war memorials in the world -- in particular by veterans and their families.

Our city has a large number of war memorials. Fred Wilson's proposal of the sculpture "E Pluribus Unum" for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail addresses one such memorial, and in the process has aroused strong feelings. It was meant to do so. But it has another dividend. Unlike public art that is merely decorative or celebratory, it operates on multiple levels at the same time.