More on the murals
Re: “Taking back the walls of Centro Hispano, 11/16/2017: Ananda Mirilli’s take on the destruction of murals at Centro Hispano is divisive and insulting. Her views do not accurately represent the whole of the Hispanic community. A significant portion of the community would not sanction such sentiments.
Mirilli was writing in response to Allison Geyer’s article, “Centro Hispano murals destroyed,” 10/26/2017. Geyer raises an important question as to the process for decommissioning a work of art. Unfortunately, Mirilli does not address this point, but dismisses the mural artist and suggests that the loss of her art “should not be mourned, but celebrated,” simply because she is “white.” This statement completely discounts the worth of the artist’s work and the depth of her grief.
According to Mirilli, “whites” should not attempt to represent a community that they do not know. Yet, she reserves the right herself to offer judgement of a community that she may not fully know. Her view of the artist, “a white-ally…who brought her limited lens and views” of Latino culture, is insulting and presumptuous. Furthermore, she applies this view to the larger community, portraying it as colonialist, ignorant, and simplistic.
Mirilli identifies herself as “a racial justice educator.” Yet, she appears to lack the intellectual flexibility to accept that valuable learning is possible when it involves a “white” individual. Is there no worth to the contributions of the many young, mostly Latino youth who were involved in the project because they worked under a “white” artist? To Mirilli, it is acceptable to dismiss them because, she believes, “they weren’t taught to decolonize their minds to understand their own culture and the culture of their ancestors.” It is mere speculation on her part to think that these pupils did not learn anything or that working on the murals was not transformative for them somehow.
Mirilli risks alienating support for organizations like Centro Hispano by espousing a separatist and divisive view towards anyone “white.” She is wrong in asking for their “expertise” and “money,” then so readily dismissing them as irrelevant. Everyone should be able to contribute.
I welcome Centro Hispano’s much needed renovation. I am thankful for the contributions that made it a reality. Yet, the question of decommissioning a work of art remains.
How sad that we have come to the argument of individual worth at a time when more than ever we need to work together as a community.
— Alfonso Zepeda-Capistrán
