An artist's decision to prominently feature a non-white child on an elementary-school mural in Prescott, Ariz., sparked so much controversy that school administrators asked him to "lighten" the child's face after a city councilman launched a campaign against the mural, according to the Arizona Republic...
The mural, which was funded by a state grant, features the faces of four actual students at the school and is intended to promote biking and other environmentally sustainable modes of transportation. The most prominent face on it belongs to a Latino student.
Really? Really? This seems reasonable to people? Like, people who don't have pointy white hats and matching bedsheets in their closets?
Maybe this comes from living in San Antonio, but I cannot fathom a) not being able to tell a Mexican from a black person (!) and b) even thinking about asking an artist to lighten the face of a mural subject.
Dark-skinned people are offensive? What year is it again?
3 comments:
Sabra, I've found that living and growing up in San Antonio does give one a different perspective on race relations. Most people around here don't bat an eye when a Theissen marries a Rodriguez, but in other urban areas -- even not so far away -- that's considered an interracial relationship that should be entered into with caution. I've heard as much from acquaintances through the years.
I guess we just have a different way of looking at things around here.
You'd be surprised how many so called liberals are hung up on skin color. As opposed to race. I know several liberals who automatically equate dark skinned with "African American". I know several dark skinned Hispanics who would cheerfully, and uh, explicitly, explain the difference. Not to mention Cape Verdeans who definitely do NOT want to be considered Portuguese.
At the risk of spouting a cliche, it's not at all black and white when it comes to race or ethnic identification.
Although liberals do seem to like simple labels.
I have lived in 4 different states, north and south. In San Antonio (don't know about the rest of south Texas) I think one reason Hispanic/White interaction is different is because:
The Hispanics have always been here. When us white guys started coming down here, they were here already.
All the guys that fought and died at the Battle of the Alamo were not white. I'm guessing that a significant number were Mexican/of Mexican descent.
In the days when Texas was still a frontier, Mexicans and Whites worked together to survive. They had to. I would think it would be pretty stupid to discriminate against each other when your very survival depends on working together. People grew used to the idea.
It seems all Texans like to eat, regardless of of race. Why do you think much of the local cusine is called "Tex-Mex?" :)
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