KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Post Office Mural Sparks Controversy

Post Office Mural Sparks Controversy

Though a mural depicting several African Americans picking cotton has adorned the Linden Texas post office's wall since 1939, its only now that people have started to protest it's presence. 
     "I t's embarrassment to see that we still have this old south mentality in our area," says Quincee Easter. That's one of the reasons he and his friends say they're going to protest the mural on July 9th. They cite several items on the painting as offensive.
     "W hy aren't these white people picking cotton as well?" Eastsr asks.
    "T hey're depicted with their shoes off and they're clad in these things that just look like rags," says Brittany Ray.
     The US post office's public relations office tells News 12 that while they hear the protestors concerns, they don't feel the mural is offensive. They tell News 12 that when they comissioned the artist, the mural was supposed to depict regular people from the area. And not everyone feels the mural has a derogatory affect.
     "I think that it can be interpreted in many different ways. It could be just a historical reference or just someone's perspective," says Brooke Robertson, a Linden resident.
    Even so, Brittany Ray says the mural does not belong in a post office.
     "It sends a subliminal message as to what people think of African Americans and how these incidents can occur," says Ray.