A mural dedication ceremony at Centro Hispano in 2010.
I am not an art critic.
I am a multiracial, Latinx, racial justice educator committed to decolonizing my mind. Through these lenses, I am an activist here in Madison.
From 2009 to 2010 I worked for Centro Hispano, the only Dane County organization serving predominately Latinos. During my short tenure at Centro I witnessed a lot of well-intentioned initiatives that were less grounded in the racial justice and decolonization imperative that is needed to liberate and elevate Latinx folks.
One of the initiatives was a partnership with a white-ally artist, who has done a considerable amount of work in representing Latinxs culture. I was there when many of her murals were being created. As I walked through the murals, I could see and appreciate the beauty. The Latino people represented in the murals were always happy — cultivating the land, celebrating the harvest, and being surrounded by their families.
This past year, Centro Hispano was nominated to a makeover by Design for a Difference. Centro’s leadership and staff decided to take down some of the murals as part of a renovation. The artist was “devastated” by the removal of some of the murals, posting an Isthmus article on the situation on social media. Folks, mostly white Madisonians, clamored to support her and were confused as to who had the right to change Centro’s wall.
It is true that many Latino youth, along with white youth, helped paint the murals. I would argue they weren’t taught to decolonize their minds to understand their own culture and the culture of their ancestors. The murals were intended to be beautiful, but they were in no way an inspiration for the liberation of Latinxs.
Further, in representing any Latinx culture, I would be remiss if I didn’t include a historical context of the colonization of the Americas. White colonizers destroyed our indigenous cultures and forced assimilation for the sole purpose of exploitation and control of our people. For centuries, white colonizers have re-written our histories and erased our cultures, allowing for a monolithic, weak description of our identities.
Through my trained racial justice eyes, the representations on Centro’s walls were singular, simplistic, and designed by a non-Latino person who brought her limited lens and views of Latinx culture. The drawings were pretty, but in no way provocative or inspired by the strength of political and social resistance inherent through Latinx American culture. The images reflect well the mesmerization of white people when they see beautiful brown people, but not our legacies of hurt, slavery, genocide, exploitation, and displacement of people and resources. The walls muted many voices of resistance and strength against white norms and white colonization.
Finally, this would be less than complete if I didn’t mention that the only reason that Centro’s ability to reclaim their walls became controversial was due to the persistence of white privilege in Madison.
Isthmus, with its mostly white writers, elevated the white voice of one of Madison’s finest white artistic leaders — someone who has received a lot of money to express my culture and the culture of people like me. The article’s limited analysis of non-white cultures meant that many of its readers could only see the destruction of whiteness as something to be grieved. This colorblindness is a common effect of white supremacy and how whiteness finds comfort and shelter in Madison.
Our Latinx communities have been a target of real destruction; the fear and constant threat of xenophobia, draconian policies and anti-immigrant sentiments permeates throughout our community. Centro Hispano’s staff, and Latinx community everywhere, are battling a real fight everyday against the dehumanization of our community and we are losing. The mural debacle feels like another low blow to already overwhelmed agency and undercuts the amazing leadership of the CEO, Karen Menendez Coller.
So I say now to white Madisonians: These walls are not to represent your view of us. I know it feels uncomfortable and new to think that there is any place in Madison that you don’t own, that you don’t get a say in, where you are not the most critical stakeholder, and where your money will no longer control what is on our walls. Centro Hispano has claimed back what was always ours. Be thankful that we now have strong Latinx leadership.
Taking back the walls designed to belong to Latinxs shouldn’t be controversial. Instead this move should be celebrated.
Thanks, white people, for your expertise and your money. But these walls were never yours to begin with.
Ananda Mirilli is a racial justice educator and activist focused on education equity issues.
