written in response to Barack Obama's eulogy delivered at John Lewis's funeral
George Wallace
may be gone but we witness ...
blood red paint
on a pair of giant bronze hands
named Serve and Protect
Notes:
1 George Wallace (1919-98), the four-time governor of Alabama and four-time candidate for president of the United States, became known as the embodiment of resistance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
2 “Serve and Protect” is a large bronze sculpture by artist Gregory Ragland depicting two hands side-by-side with their palms facing upward, demonstrating the sign language, "to serve."
I really appreciate how you link Wallace lasting impact to our present day police violence by the use of Ragland's sculpture.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent example of how the Tanka art form can speak to everyday people's lives in a format that allows them to understand formal creative expression.