In a broadcast last month, according to the Daily Courier in Prescott, Blair mistakenly complained that the most prominent child in the painting is African-American, saying: "To depict the biggest picture on the building as a Black person, I would have to ask the question: Why?"
Blair could not be reached for comment Thursday. In audio archives of his radio show, Blair discusses the mural. He insists the controversy isn't about racism but says the mural is intended to create racial controversy where none existed before.
What an asshat. First of all, the most prominent child in the mural isn’t African American, he’s Hispanic. Secondly, it’s a teensy bit disingenuous to create controversy about a mural on your radio show, then complain the mural was painted only to be controversial.
Thirdly:
Faces in the mural were drawn from photographs of children enrolled at Miller Valley, a K-5 school with 380 students and the highest ethnic mix of any school in Prescott. Wall said thousands of town residents volunteered or donated to the project, the fourth in a series of community murals painted by a group of artists known as the "Mural Mice."
I’d say somebody will be lucky to get elected dog catcher in the next election. (And just as an aside, why is it that any nutjob who wants to open his pie hole about uppity brown people can get a radio show?)
Finally, the most hilarious thing of all is that this mural had nothing to do with race; it was painted to promote a “green transportation” campaign.
Of course, we in Nashville are no stranger to mural controversies: last year the Jefferson Street mural commemorating Nashville’s Freedom Riders was defaced multiple times. But at least we didn’t have a city councilman calling for its removal.
Sheesh.
