The Underground Railroad: Vermont and the Fugitive Slave
Artist: Sam Kerson
Year: 1993
Date of Action: 2020
Region: North America
Location: The Vermont Law and Graduate School, Montpelier, VT
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Painting, Public Art
Confronting Bodies: The Vermont Law and Graduate School
Description of Artwork: The mural is titled "The Underground Railroad: Vermont and the Fugitive Slave," intended to highlight Vermont's role in the abolitionist movement. The mural had remained there for three decades.
The Incident: In 2020, several students wrote an open letter to the school asking for the mural to be removed. They cited that the exaggerated facial features of the Black figures were racially insensitive.
Results of Incident: The state court gave permission to the Vermont Law and Graduate School to cover up the mural in 2021. The artist, Sam Kerson, appealed the decision in federal court, citing the covering up as a violation of the federal Visual Artists Rights Act, protecting artists' work from mutilation and distortion. The Vermont Law and Graduate School received the support from the ACLU to have the right to remove the mural. A decision has yet to be released, but the mural remains covered currently with large white panels.
Source:
https://www.wcax.com/2023/01/27/should-vermont-law-school-be-allowed-remove-controversial-mural/
https://www.vnews.com/Vermont-Law-School-says-artist-can-remove-mural-35395900
