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And thus I began the creative process making sketches, loose renderings of intertwined figures on a battle field. What were they thinking and how were they interacting? How could they portray a look to the past while communicating the hope of the future? And what of the racial tensions of the day? I was aware that the park was consistently filled with classical figurative memorials and thus I determined I should be thinking in terms of human figures, real men with real blood and guts and the beauty and mystery of the human body formed with a sensitivity to the fragile nature of our survival day to day. In a flash of light, our lives here can be extinguished. I had lived with that certainty through the living memory that my own father had died instantly in a Volkswagen bug. Certainly among the rolling hills and marshes along the Mississippi River in 1863, that reality would be tangible to these men, inhaled with each battle breath.
The photographs and still images of the Civil War served as resources for attire and accouterments, but there was obviously no specific image to be copied or adapted to this project. As is often my method, to conceive such a form would require some verbal language to talk myself into a visual language. I began to write down my thoughts and emotions and hopes for the monument. In doing so I arrived at an initial form, simple elements of three human figures, two black and one white, non-specific soldiers in an American Civil War. They would be men whose sacrifices placed them on common ground, no greater but no less than any other man who lost limb or life.
In the design that I formed quickly and loosely in oil-based clay onto my armature of aluminum wire, the black man to the right, while helping a fallen fellow human, the white soldier, looks back with anguish and sadness to a past filled if not with pain then certainly with limitations and a splintered light of hope. His rough, farm-like attire suggests his volunteer spirit to help settle the conflict (the committee would later refer to him as representing the civilian contributions of Mississippians of African descent), while the shovel and pick ax on the ground underneath him suggest the various contributions and duties black troops and civilians provided, including digging trenches, forging canals on the Louisiana side of the river, and digging graves.
The other black soldier wears a uniform, paying tribute to the Union “Colored Troops.” He is supported by a rifle, a reminder of the bloody sacrifices made, here used symbolically as an instrument to help pull a wounded nation back to health, while he looks up hopefully to a future of freedom in a land that was indeed settled based on a hope of just that. His face would communicate in no uncertain terms that something went drastically wrong.
The critically injured white soldier in the middle would represent the pain, horror and trauma of the war itself. Ironically, his clothing would yield no clues to identify his affiliation. The “division”, however, is made clear with no reference to the color of his coat or its style; rather, the color of his skin. He is white. They are black.
With this basic framework of theory and form, I was on my way to a workable design concept. I did, however, have one major problem. The people who were in charge of the monument had no idea of my concept or my interest for that matter.
Aware that the Department of Archives and History would be the governmental body in charge, I sought an audience with its director, Elbert Hilliard. Mr. Hilliard had long been associated with the department and the Historian became the director in 1980 following Charlotte Capers.
Since I had no idea how far the committee or this department had gone in investigating this project, I could only approach them by stating my passion to be involved and present my initial ideas and writings regarding how I would approach the sculpture for the memorial. I would share with them some of my other works in bronze and present the small clay model of three figures. If nothing else, I would have an idea where the project stood and what the process would be.
During our meeting, I became aware of the potential difficulty in coming to a consensus as to what such a Mississippi monument to honor the contributions of Colored Troops to the Civil War would involve. Although Mississippi and its citizens have made great strides in finding harmony, the state has had a long history of racial tension, leaving many around the country believing we have never overcome the images and realities of the turbulent civil rights struggles of the 1960’s. Old scars fade slowly and painful memories die hard. In that light, Mr. Hilliard voiced concern that such a monument erected by the state should honor all Mississippians of African descent who participated in the War.
In this meeting I learned more of Robert Walker, his long persistent work to see this monument realized, and his desire that the figures represent only the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Infantry Regiments of African Descent. It was obvious that Mr. Hilliard had great respect for Mr. Walker, yet the Department of Archives and History felt they were responsible to ensure that this monument was reflective of the various contributions of black Mississippians on both sides of the Civil War, Union and Confederate.
My concept of one uniformed black man and another in farm attire both escorting and assisting from the battle a white uniformed soldier could be a starting point to curb any potential protests of the Mississippi monument.
Months passed with no clarification of the committee’s plans. I remained hopeful but realistically prepared myself that this would not be my first monumental sculpture project. I felt guilty for wondering if my race would be an obstacle to Robert Walker. I thought if I could spend some time with him he would have an opportunity to assess my motives and artistic vision. Only then could we both know if I was the right artist for this important work.