Hatch Elementary School Mural – Oak Park IL

Two 1936 murals at an Oak Park elementary school touched off a 90-minute debate at a school board meeting this week, with some parents and educators demanding the murals be removed, while others argued to keep them as a caution against racial stereotyping. Several parents of Hatch pupils have complained about the murals. One mural portrays black people as slaves and as spear-carrying, loin-cloth clad people with large lips, and the other depicts Native Americans as arrow-shooting attackers. Critics contend the murals-two of four Depression-era works at the school-are offensive, reinforce stereotypes and encourage racist attitudes… While the murals might have good historical context for older students, “I have concerns about leaving them there. Times change, and schools are not museums,” [District 97 School Superindendent John] Fagan said. (https://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-02-10/news/9502100336_1_murals-hatch-school-school-board-meeting)