The Prescott Downtown Mural Project recently completed its latest mural at Miller Valley School with the help of the Mural Mice and Miller Valley School students. The Daily Courier Staff Photographer Matt Hinshaw attended the dedication program, parade, and play on Friday May 21, 2010 and captured the festivities.
The Daily Courier
This is not 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white man. We don't have "Whites Only" bathrooms or laundromats anymore. The days of blacks having to get restaurant food from "out back" - rather than by table service - are gone.
Racism has been a major issue in the United States since the Colonial era. Burdens of racism have fallen upon Native Americans and any manner of "people of color" or religion - black, Asian, Mexican, Jewish, Irish, Italian, Muslims and Arab, and many others. One would think it has abated since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.
In Thursday's edition, The Daily Courier highlighted the flap concerning the mural at Miller Valley School in Prescott. It resulted in dozens upon dozens of online comments expressing dismay and anxiety over the controversy about the skin color of the child in the mural, whether the mural is or is not representative of the community as a whole, and Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair's comments to the Courier and on a local radio show.
One letter writer, Henry Flurry, said it best: "When I drive past the Miller Valley mural, I see a happy child. Not once did I consciously note what race was being depicted. When Councilman Steve Blair drives by, he sees the color black, while repeatedly claiming not to be racist. To paraphrase Shakespeare, 'Methinks thou dost protest too much.'"
The people who are upset that the mural depicts a "person of color" are making too much out of this. The students were involved, especially as "models." Unfortunately, racism is alive and well in "Everybody's Hometown" and we are sadder for it.
As for Blair, following is one of the quotes he gave us: "I'm not a racist by any stretch of the imagination, but whenever people start talking about diversity, it's a word I can't stand."
He has a right to his opinion, and he needs to learn or know at least three things:
• Saying "but" after a declaration negates your original intent;
• Council members - public figures - need to take care with what they say, especially when it can reflect badly on the city or community; and,
• Remembering Blair's past incidents involving race - the "taco flipper" comment and the Census banner in Spanish - frankly we are seeing a pattern and are regretting endorsing him for City Council.
Posted: Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Article comment by:
David Ben Moshe
I moved here last September to get away from 'diversity' which is killing this nation and now its arrived here. Are we going to let it remain?
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Article comment by:
End it now!!!! !!
There have been over 600 comments regarding the mural, the mice, the Blairs, the recall, the children, art vs graffiti, the town sign, national news, and so many others. There is not one thing that has not been said at least 50 times. And that, is from both sides of the WALL. The only thing happening is a written rage without dialogue. Unfortunately, the COURIER, by permitting it to continue is participating in the unfortunate outcomes. People have escalated to the point of making threatening accusations and actions. The time of productive dialogue is long gone. END IT NOW!!!
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Article comment by:
QUESTION HERE
Someone please tell me two things about the mural. One: Why is the mex child waving a white flag? (seems very racist) Two: What the heck is the huge orange thing under him?
This mural is just poorly done - looks like kaka and I get to enjoy it daily!
Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Article comment by:
ilene woodd
why isnt the superintendant of schools questioned? he is suppose to set the standard --he should have stuck up with the artists. it was the moral and right thing to do. isnt this the same guy who refused to have the presidents speech in the classroom when the rest of the nation did---something is wrong here and you are perpetuating racism. whithout a burning cross and white robes they feel innocent.
Posted: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Article comment by:
M. A.
Where is all the evidence of Green Energy alternatives in the PUSD? Skylights? Passive Solar Architecture? LNG Busses? Solar panels? Wind Generators? I think you Americans are all talk no action.
Posted: Friday, June 11, 2010
Article comment by:
Ed Harley
Re: MURALGATE Update: Listened in to the KYCA pm show again today.The "investigation" goes on and ... their going to get to the bottom of how this all happened. Not the comments that got Steve fired, but how the Mural ever happened in the first place, with emphasis on the funding and the personal attributes of the Artist, himself. They would like Mr. Wall, the Artist, to come on the show so he can answer question from what appears to be a totally disapprovin audience. Gee, what could go wrong there?The Host and callers are like an old song from the 50s ",A Mutual Admiration Society". The Host emphasizes how everyone should be decent to one another and nastiness etc. is sort of attributed to these outsiders and troublemakers (Progressives), etc. All the while the callers spew thinly veiled resentment,, at best, mixed potential dirt their trying to dig up, and Public Service Announcements for varous REPUBLICAN political functions coming up. Why will this station put a Syndicated Progressive on the air to balance things out a bit? They have had a Conservative Bully Pulpit around here for so long its like there is only one way to look at things. Others should mind their "own business" or leave, I guess. I've been here 26 years, pay taxes of all types, treat people decently, vote (so far so good) amd I think the Mural is GREAT and stand behind the Artist, his work amd how he chooses to live in a free America that I went to Vietnam for. I have a right to differ from the Prescott Status Quo and I don't plan on leaving.
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2010
Article comment by:
honky brujo
Patriot, What concerns me is there are people living in my community that believe that Obama was born in Kenya. Boy, you teabaggers are something else, your not even ashamed to spew that hate.
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
c mart
i would like to know who gave the okay to put a racial mural on an historical land mark like miller valley school. next there will be pictures of ben l on the court house. this is still prescott our town.leave the correctnes to california.our state is going down....
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
American Patriot
My family has been in Prescott for 5 generations and I can honestly say "This is crap"....People wake up, this country is dying while everyone is fighting over issues that are far from important. If everyone is this upset about a mural, why are you not upset that our "president" was born in Kenya and is lying to the world?
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
JAFO !
The kid on the wall doesn't look anything like Obama, his ears don't stick out like Obama's. He looks more like Michael Steele (RNC Chair) or J.C.Watts (R - OK), two fine conservative Black Republicans. So is this Blair guy some sort of liberal that he hates seeing a young Michael Steele on the mural? The kid may be black, but he looks like a solid Young Republican to me.
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Sammy Badger
"I am very glad that my kids are grown and gone from here" sez:
"Maybe that's why so few minorities come here."
Just to cut to the chase, why do you think Prescott is such a popular retirement destination?
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
To: Back To Basics
Good point. Why wasn't this mural painted on the INSIDE of the building? Plus, now that I see how my tax dollars are used, I won't be voting for any more tax increases, that is certain.
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Article comment by:
I am very glad that my kids are grown and gone from here..
This whole issue is embarrassing to me, and I've lived here for a very long time, and have had kids graduate from PUSD. To have so many persons have a problem with what amounts to painting a couple of brick walls like that tells me that many here are actually bigoted. They can hide behind lots of stuff ("you liberals do this"--"I won't have ghetto art on that corner"), but the perception to people like me (a conservative professional for over 28 years here) is that many people here are in fact not as they claim to be in word. Sad, but true (to me). Maybe that's why so few minorities come here. Maybe that's why so many of these vocal persons come here.
Posted: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Article comment by:
Lee Griffith
EDITOR: You quoted Steve Blair as saying,"I'm not a racist by any stretch of the imagination, but whenever people start talking about diversity, it's a word I can't stand." Then you went on to presume that Steve should learn or know that, "Saying 'but' after a declaration negates your original intent." If you actually believe that, your ignorance of the use of the English language is colossal. If you would look in the most basic college dictionary, you would find a wide variety of ways in which the conjuction "but" is used, and there are many cases in which saying "but" after making a declaration does not in any way negate the original intent. Let me give you an example: "I never served in the military, but I have come to profoundly respect those who wear the uniform." Was the original intent negated by the use of the word "but"? While there are a number of writers at the Courier who seem to have a poor grasp of the English language, I don't really think that's the problem in your case. I think this is what you have done: You have found a cute way to accuse a good man who loves his community of being a racist. That is evil. You are part of the problem in this nation, the problem being that we can no longer openly discuss serious issues without calling each other names and labeling each other as racists, bigots, etc.
Posted: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Article comment by:
God is in the Details
People call racism because the artists were ordered to paint the kids WHITE. This is not rocket science. It has nothing to do with whether or not you like the mural, whether you think public art is socialism, or how fond you may or may not be of bricks. Prescott citizens joined (and continue to join) Prescott politicians in MAKING this an issue of race. That is called racism.
Posted: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Article comment by:
Stephen Asterisk
@Dee Montegomery - you should know that globalization is not a new phenomenon. If it was not for globalization the Americas would never have been "discovered" by Old World privateers and explorers. I am sorry the shock it causes you to finally understand we live in a dynamic world. Alas, if you weren't so mired in your beliefs in an absolute world then you might realize and adapt to the changes coming. You should know nothing will stop change (note I am not talking about the political change). The rule of the world, in history and in the future, adapt or dissolve. Are you strong enough to do the former? A stalwart resolve means nothing to the magnitude of external forces you and your ilk stand against. For the betterment of this great country I hope the rigid beliefs we hold dear (whether accurate or not) requires a populace that is dynamic. I for one am not going to allow your philosophies ruin the next great leap.
Posted: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Article comment by:
Phocus Please
This mural looks like what you would expect in Cuba, Venezuela, or other dictator controlled countries. All it needs is a hammer and sickle or children all in red, brown, or other color uniforms with raised arms or fists. It's disturbing and the color of the childs skin has nothing to do with it. Sadly, the worst ones are the folks who say things like "if you don't like the mural, you are racist." Take it down.
Posted: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Article comment by:
Back to Basics
How did this war of words get so far away from the original objection of the mural? The justification used by school authorities to radically alter a public-funded building using TAX DOLLARS cannot be argued against without its proponents screaming RACIST to anyone who disagrees with this use of public funds and property. I am not a racist by anyone's definition, but I will tell you that this mural should have been painted on the INSIDE of the building, NOT THE OUTSIDE. The contrast with the otherwise orderly campus is garish. There. My two cents. Call me whatever you'd like.
Posted: Monday, June 07, 2010
Article comment by:
Jennifer J
Demonstration at City Council Meeting tomorrow 6/8 at City building on Cortez!!! Be there to show your dissatisfaction with Steve Blair and ask him to step down!
Posted: Monday, June 07, 2010
Article comment by:
John Smoltz
Steve Blair ... actions belie his words time and again and the fact that the people in that town and, indeed, Arizona in general allow this type of behavior and hate speech to go uncontested is appalling, sickening and depressing all at once. It shakes my faith in mankind and makes me ashamed to be an American. We should be setting an example for the rest of the world, but what we're saying right now is that it's ok to hate people because of their skin color and it's ok to discriminate against people of different nationalities. The fact that people like Steve Blair and those Tea Party yahoos hide ... behind faux-patriotism and spurious moral authority makes it so much worse. I know that not everyone in Prescott (and Arizona) shares Blair's ... view of what the world should look like, but those of you who don't need to speak louder and longer, for everyone's sake.
Posted: Monday, June 07, 2010
Article comment by:
mtn girl
It takes all kinds of people to make a patchwork quilt. Can you imagine what the children who actively participated in this mural think? Wondering why isn't it OK to have a mural celebrating the diverse cultures that have made Prescott home in the past few hundred years? Nice going Prescott, way to call the children out.
Posted: Monday, June 07, 2010
Article comment by:
Dee Montgomery
Without a doubt, these comments - so confident and so celebratory - are the result of an organized effort. They are not (if we are to believe the polls) representative of what most American citizens believe.
Why not a mural with white, brown, black and red kids? Now, that would be diversity.
Making the Hispanic (representing 1 in 3 students) the focus of the mural was undeniably a statement to our impressionable white and black kids: Your generation will be a more diverse society.
Can you imagine the points it would have made had the Latino kid, in that ol' American spirit, said, "It's OK. I understand."
(Whether we like it our not, this is about globalization. Our economy - tragically - has already been globalized. Our populace is also being globalized. The majority will soon be people who - to their own detriment - know nothing of, care nothing about, our Constitution.)
Myself, I was willing to stand up for you. I am not willing to stand still while you run over me.
Posted: Sunday, June 06, 2010
Article comment by:
bob roberts
The extreme reaction to the election of a bi-racial President by the right wing extremists is obvious and their relations totally transparent.The angry backlash has to be met with strong condemnation? A socialist muslim taking away freedoms? No! Right wing Christian extremists who hate Democracy? Yes!
Posted: Sunday, June 06, 2010
Article comment by:
Blair has been fired
According to enews Blair's hate radio gig is no more. Perhaps bubba limbaugh will let him shine his shoes or babbling beck will let him shill for his gold company.
Posted: Sunday, June 06, 2010
Article comment by:
Sue Brown
Steve Blair needs to removed immediately from his seat on the Prescott City Council. He has proven over and over to be a small thinking, intolerant racist, and has no place representing the beautiful City of Prescott and its people.
