James Chaney, along with civil rights workers James Goodman and Michael Schwerner of New York, were slain by members of the Klu Klux Klan on June 21, 1964, in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Other than Chaney’s grave site, there are currently there are no memorials marking this dark and historic day in history, honoring their sacrifice to the cause of Civil Rights.
A preliminary drawing of a proposed mural
In November of 2018, I received a call from a long time friend, artist and art collector, Joyce Day of Meridian, Mississippi. We discussed the issue that she was passionate about, that there was no memorial for James Chaney in Meridian. After receiving an invitation, I went down to visit town and Chaney’s grave site.
The image, Emerging from the Storm, came to me on this visit. The three men are depicted emerging from the dark storm of tyranny.
The rings of the artist’s notebook along the top, become the broken chains of injustice symbolizing freedom from oppression.
I have donated 4′ by 4′ murals to the Children’s Defense League, located outside Knoxville, Tennessee, and to the Highlander Center, also outside Knoxville, a place best known for the meetings held by Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, along with other civil rights workers, to organize the 1955 Montgomery Bus Strike.
Learn more about the story here.
We live in an age where our history has been scrubbed. We have we have insulated ourselves by hiding from sight these difficult issues of the past, yet the impact of these deeds never go away. They keep erupting violence over and over.
We of today are not directly guilty of these injustices, yet the pain from centuries of racial injustice endures within the psyche of our American culture and throughout our world. This pain can only be healed by acknowledgment and truth, and truth is an essential ingredient for the creative process.
Our work therefore, is to transform the dark side into creative acts that shine a light on injustice and unfairness. Artists are the Weavers of Truth and thus, Slayers of Fear. These times call for devotion, dedication, and direction.