Art sparks deep feelings, discussions of racism - KansasCity.com
1 of 3
http://www.kansascity.com/278/story/1515441.html?story_link=email_msg
23°/12°
Forecast
19°F
KC Star: Subscribe | Manage Account | Digital E-Star | Star Advantage | Star in Education
HOME
NEWS
SPORTS
BUSINESS
FYI/LIVING
ENTERTAINMENT
Columnists
Blogs
OPINION
Editorials
JOBS
Welcome Guest Login | Register
CARS
REAL ESTATE
RENTALS
CLASSIFIEDS
SHOPPING
EXTRAS
Letters to the Editor
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
Posted on Sun, Oct. 18, 2009 10:15 PM
KansasCity.com
Buzz Up
Share
Email
Print
Comment (11)
Recommend (0)
COMMENTARY
Acai Berry Exposed
(Official Test)
Art sparks deep feelings, discussions of racism
Want to use Acai berry? Do
not use. Read this warning
now.
By LEWIS W. DIUGUID
The Kansas City Star
Art often articulates complicated subjects that people
either avoid or struggle to describe.
The “Black Is, Black Ain’t” art exhibit at the H&R Block
Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute illustrated that
well.
The title came from a line in Ralph Ellison’s book,
“Invisible Man.” Works by more than two dozen artists
organized by Hamza Walker, curator with the University of
Chicago’s Renaissance Society, included beautifully
positive photographs of black families, disturbing
caricatures and troubling pictures, sculptures and videos.
More News
Health care system has let us all down
Kansas City: Local Mom
Makes $77/hr Online!
Middle-class anger all too easy to understand
Unemployed mom makes
$6,495/month working
online. Read how she did it.
Peace department could work to defuse violence
Home is where lessons of life must be taught
Improving journalism with cultural insights
They represent the range of what black is and isn’t in
America.
At a “Let’s Talk about Race” discussion for the exhibit recently, 30 participants divided into three groups.
My group viewed pictures dedicated to Emmett Till, 14, of Chicago. In the summer of 1955 while visiting relatives in
Mississippi, he was killed for whistling at a white woman. Included was Demetrius Oliver’s color photo titled “Till,”
showing a black man’s head covered with a frosting-like substance that was the color of black flesh and blood.
Apartment Assistant Manager
Maintenance Tech
Management - Sales
It represented the disfigured state of Till’s body at his funeral. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley, insisted on an open casket.
She wanted the nation to see what racism wrought. Tens of thousands of people in September 1955 viewed the body,
and millions more saw the horrific photos of Till in Jet magazine.
Genuine Digital
The images influenced Rosa Parks, who became the mother of the civil rights movement for her defiant act in December
1955. She was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus. That began the
Montgomery bus boycott, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led. Its success eventually mushroomed into the civil
rights movement.
Apartments Groundskeeper
Apartments
Apartments - Assistant Manager/Leasing C
View More
Most Read
Till’s story was further illuminated by Jason Lazarus’ color print, “Standing at the Grave of Emmett Till, the Day of the
Exhumation, June 1, 2005.”
In the discussion people said it was as if Till were alive today, speaking hauntingly of the abuse African Americans still
endure. Some said it reminded them of cautions black parents must share with their children about neighborhoods to
avoid and how to look and dress to be seen as passable in America.
Others were reminded of the recent unjust arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his Cambridge, Mass.,
home, and how young blacks still must be warned about run-ins with police.
The raw images prompted conversations about how race today influences treatment of President Barack Obama. Racism
is the oxygen that fed many of the fires of anger at summer town hall meetings on health care reform. Though masked
like the Till image, race will continually trouble Obama.
The Till images caused one man to feel fear, terror and absolute exclusion. The graveyard scene represented the
ultimate sense of being an outsider in America.
MU cheerleader suspended after incident with
basketball players
KU's new football coach, Turner Gill, emphasizes
players
Gill brings in assistants with winning backgrounds
Police find photos in child pornography case
Bowe's back with Chiefs after suspension
Judge to hear arguments over slain student who
was Internet porn model
For people of color, having no money or prestige is a kind of death.
The gravesite struck one woman as an open sore, and justice was the puss still festering from unsolved crimes like Till’s,
which many blacks have faced in their push for equality.
Chiefs should thank anyone who sat through this
12/15/2009 2:58 PM
Art sparks deep feelings, discussions of racism - KansasCity.com
2 of 3
http://www.kansascity.com/278/story/1515441.html?story_link=email_msg
Another said that from the images she could feel the incredible courage of Till’s mother, who came out of her comfort
zone because of what was done to her son.
game
One participant cried about the enormous grief African Americans have had to endure and continue to struggle with.
Hundreds of American Girl fans show up to
support a store in KC area
In the following large-group dialogue, discussion leader Janet Moss asked those present to think of a word that described
their reactions. They included unusual, exposed, blessed, anxious, acknowledged, provoking, extraordinary, revealing,
angry, enlivened, connection and joy.
Girl, 15, seriously hurt when struck by vehicle
Kids' Swine flu shots recalled; not strong enough
The art gave us a chance to connect as people of different races, to talk in a safe, peaceful place without fear and to
learn that as individuals and as a nation we have a lot of unfinished work and healing left to do.
Lewis W. Diuguid is a member of The Star’s Editorial Board. To reach him, call 816-234-4723 or send e-mail to
[email protected].
Posted on Sun, Oct. 18, 2009 10:15 PM
Buzz Up
Share
Email
Print
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open, civil debate is the goal. Please refrain from personal
attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click
the "Report as abuse" link.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register
Comments:
11
Showing:
dedo2422 wrote on 10/24/2009 11:58:56 AM:
As the parent of one Black child and 2 biracial children, I too must educate my children about the neighborhoods that
they must avoid to remain safe. All of these neighborhoods would be classified as 'Black' neighborhoods.
You see, as a white parent, I do not have the irrational bias ingrained in me that may blind me to statistics and facts. I
know through teaching and my experience, that personal resposibility and mutual respect breed a safe inclusive
environment. I also know that lack of personal responsibility (race-baiting being an example), distrust, and hatred lead
to chaos as well as irrational reactions, such as the one perpetrated by Professor Gates.
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
gembull wrote on 10/20/2009 5:22:27 AM:
hmmm, let's see what the woman shot in the face last night at jimmy johns thinks about this column...
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
dturnerc wrote on 10/19/2009 8:47:46 PM:
The Star's one-trick pony has yet other column about racism.
bhjayhawk wrote on 10/19/2009 1:11:05 PM:
tiredofit -- exactly. I'd been signing posts with "Lewis writes like a 3rd Grader" -- I think I wrote at this level in 1st grade.
A massive embarrassment that the Star continues to perpetrate on its dwindling subscribers.
BTW -- since Lewis has to go back 54 years for this example, perhaps he could get us a tally of the whites killed merely
for walking through/driving through/being near black neighborhoods since then. That math would not be to his liking.
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
tiredofit wrote on 10/19/2009 12:49:22 PM:
This is so wrong on so many levels. Diuguid writes like he is in elementary school. How in the world can this stuff be
printed. His use of language and his sentence structure is a joke. I won't even comment on the premise of the article
and his complete lack of original comments.
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
12/15/2009 2:58 PM
Art sparks deep feelings, discussions of racism - KansasCity.com
3 of 3
http://www.kansascity.com/278/story/1515441.html?story_link=email_msg
Gary60 wrote on 10/19/2009 9:21:09 AM:
"Some said it reminded them of cautions black parents must share with their children about neighborhoods to avoid..."
The dangerous neighborhoods many black children should avoid are their own.
"...and how young blacks still must be warned about run-ins with police." Judging by the conviction rates of young black
men, they are not heeding this warning.
"For people of color [here, Duiguid is referring only to American born citizens of black African descent, and assumes
that the individuals in that group all think and behave exactly alike], having no money or prestige is a kind of death." For
people of pallor, encountering a person of color who has no money or prestige can and often does lead to the real kind
of death.
Duiguid is a symptom of what eventually will kill the Star.
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
Recommend (0)
Report abuse
themau wrote on 10/19/2009 8:36:26 AM:
What is with every column you write? RACE!!
Stupid stuff.
More comments on this story: 1
2
Refinance Now at
4.1% Fixed
No hidden fees-4.4%
APR! No obligation.
Get 4 free quotes. No
SSN req.
MortgageRefinance
Obama Urges
Homeowners to
Refinance
($90,000 Refinance
$489/mo) See Rates No Credit Check Req.
www.LowerMyBills.com
Obama Backs
Insurance
Regulation
Drivers Pay $44/mo on
Avg for Car Insurance.
Are you paying too
much?
Auto-Insurance
Ads by Yahoo!
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About our ads | Copyright
HOME
NEWS
SPORTS
BUSINESS
FYI/LIVING
ENTERTAINMENT
OPINION
PROMO
Columnists
Breaking News
Chiefs
MoneyWise
Food
Ink
Editorials
Jobs
Blogs
Politics
Royals
Consumer News
House & Home
Horoscopes
Lee Judge
Cars
Obituaries
Lotteries
KU
Emerging Business
Faith
Comics & Games
Letters to the Editor
Real Estate
Weather
Neighborhoods
K-State
Technology
Indulge
Preview Extra
Rentals
Local Traffic
Info Central
MU
Workplace
Star Magazine
Movies
Classifieds
Video
News Projects
High Schools
Star 50
Travel
Music
Shopping
About The Star
Nation
Stocks
Health
Performing Arts
Contact Us
World
Calendar
Occasions
Calendar
Dear Abby
12/15/2009 2:58 PM