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.

CASI was organized for the sole purpose of opposing "E Pluribus Unum" from being placed on public space. While we are pleased with the foundation's decision not to locate the artistic conception by artist Fred Wilson at our city's most prominent government building, we do not consider this development a victory.

We are not against the Cultural Trail, its sponsors or supporters. Many of us are patrons and supporters of the arts and know the value that it has for our community. We also acknowledge Mr. Wilson's accomplishments and contributions to the art world.

However, our concern is with the re-imaging of the emancipated slave figure taken from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument downtown supposedly to create an empowered "21st century African-American."

We oppose locating this art piece on public property and feel that the city of Indianapolis should not be in the business of housing any negative images portraying any group of its citizens for the sake of artistic expression, particularly those that have been historically disenfranchised and oppressed. The proposed shoeless, shirtless, and unfinished back of the slave image represents the slave's submissiveness, whippings and lack of humanness that, sadly, characterized the detestable institution of chattel slavery.

We believe that there is nothing positive, empowering or uplifting about slavery, nor is slavery "a culture" to be housed on the Cultural Trail.

CASI does not believe that the Cultural Trail is an appropriate venue for such a strongly political and polarizing image. The trail is a bike and walking trail, not a history trail. We would like to see art that is intended for the African-American community similar to what is already on the trail. It has, in fact, been unfair to the African-American community to have to deal with this issue in the first place. Why is the African-American community asked to bear this burden, while no other ethnic group is being depicted is such a manner?

The current art images represented on the Cultural Trail are mostly artistic and whimsical, but they are not political and polarizing like the proposed slave piece. If the stated intention of the eight-mile-long Cultural Trail is to bring the community together, then we are puzzled as to why its organizers continue to push for something that is clearly divisive within our community. Why are we still fighting these same battles?

Of the many pieces of public art that are on the trail, a variety of art, none has caused the controversy and divisiveness within the community as does this one. That fact is a great disparity within itself.

With the many other important issues facing our community, our time could better be spent addressing them than to be discussing in 2011 why it is not a good idea to put a half-naked, bare-backed, 18-foot image of an African-American male in the public square. Why? What purpose does it serve?

While we appreciate the artist's concept, what he envisions is not what the members of CASI are seeing. We know his intent and are familiar with his accomplishments, but we feel that the image has the potential to offend citizens and the many visitors to our great city.

It is our belief that empowerment only comes with transformation. That would be such as an African-American image standing upright, fully clothed like all of the scores of images around the city that depict men who are empowered.

For more information, see http://www.wix.com/1slave_enough/inindy

 Citizens Against Slave Image