Posted on August 22, 2019 at 9:25 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

A Pulitzer Prize-winning author has weighed in on a debate over controversial murals at a high school.

Alice Walker, whose daughter actually attended San Francisco’s George Washington High School years ago, argued in favor of preserving the artwork at the school, rather than covering it.

According to Artnet, the 1936 paintings depict “the first president as a slave owner and seeming to preside over the murder of a Native American man.”

The San Francisco School Board, in response to complaints about racism in the images, had voted this month to destroy the murals.

That decision drew more complaints, including from Walker, who argued that historical racism shouldn’t be glossed over and that the paintings should instead be accompanied by text that educates the viewer. 

"Why try to hide the reality of our history, which is a terrible one?" she argues in the video, which you can watch below.

You can also catch up on the great mural debate on Artnet.

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Categories: Today in Books