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Mural flap/ ridiculous, but juicyJACKSON. Mias. - One o( itic more ridiculous. But Juicy controversies which developed over id.' subject of race In Mia-jsiippt this decade apparently !h» surfaced attain1 involves n huge mural painted on a wall tn the federal district court building here. The mural cover* the wall behind ilte bench where the Judges ait :n a four floor courtroom.It's an appalling mural, primarily because It* so hideous. To others, however, the mural is appalling because, ir. their minds. It Is racist.The mural, a 19M painting by Simka Stmkhovltch. shows whites and blacks sgainst a plantation Background. The blacks are shown, shoeless, picking cotton and strumming a banjo, while the whites are somewhat more affluent In their courtly appearance.The mural was In the news in 1971 when a civil rights lawyer tried to havo it covered and when a federal district Judge. In a blistering response tn the attorney, refused to touch the muralThe reason It’s bach In the news Is somewhat a mystery. Someone familiar with the situation Mid recently that Fifth U. S. O.rcuit Judge John C. God-bold Of Montgomery. Ala . recently informed judges herethat he would not ait at a circuit court session here this month unless It Is covered.The mural is now covered.The head of the General Services Administration officehere, which maintains the court building, said the mural was covered because ‘'we're doing some work In there As scon as we get done with our work, it will be unveiled.And they plan to he done with their work Just about the time the circuit court panel finishes its work hereJudge Godboid referred all questions about the mural lo Mississippi's own Fifth Circuit Judge J. P. Colemaif.Coleman never suggested in the conversation that the mural was covered because of repairs In the room. It's a matter of Internal affairs of the court administration. he said. It has been covered, regardless of the reason for it. It’s a decisionthat's been worked out among the judges themselves.Since it Is highly unlikely the Judges would have to confer on whether to cover the mural while repairs are In process in the courtroom. It probably would not be Inaccurate lo suggest something else prompted the covering. •The first formal objection to the painting came In 1971 when civil rights attorney Frank Parker complained to the GSA that the mural dcpteia in a romantic and highly stylized manner the period Of slavery, or at least a racially segrc gated society, which for black people in Mississippi, and the country at large, connotes evil Institutions and dark days in American history The mural. Parker complained. is an affront to the dignity of the cour*. and the Judiciary. raises serious questions of personal privilege for those who practice before It on behalf of the rights of black people ar.d compromises the dignity of black litigants who appeal to the court for ‘equal Justice under law.'The response to that letter camo from tJ. S. District Judge William Harold Co*, then chief Judge in Mississippi's southern Judicial district. Judge Co* was not real pleased.Any slight trace of a senseof propriety on your part. Cox wrote Parker, would lead you Immediately to understand and know that no member of any tV other than an extremely scurvy individual would be k audacious, and display such ribald presumption, as to even criticize o decoration in any courtroom.Cox conceded he himself is no admirer of the mural But. he wrote Parker. Your request that nnything be done with it will be thrown In the waste basket and completely disregarded as unworthy of anybody fit to be admitted to the bar of this court.He concluded, one has to posseaa a very' warped mind to see anything derogatory or Insulting In the mural and it will remain in this courtroom whether you like It or not.”Parker, too. has remained ir. Cox's courtroom on occasions and has had few legal successes there except on appeals. When he heard reports that another Judge refused to sit underneath the mural unless it was covered, he merely smiled.Judge Cox's response is not known. One attorney not necessarily sympathetic to Parker said, however. Well, he fCoxi said he never really liked that atrocious painting in the first place.
Newspaper Details
Biloxi Sun Herald
Biloxi, Mississippi, US
Sun, Oct 03, 1976
Page 52
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 17 May 2016
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