Public has its say on Jefferson
Library board in Pullman hears public comment about the man, his legacy … and his portrait
More than a dozen people presented arguments Tuesday as to whether a painting of Thomas Jefferson should be removed from its location at the entryway of the Neill Public Library after its presence drew complaints from community members.
The Neill Public Library Board of Trustees allowed time for public comment on the issue during its meeting in the Hecht Room of the Pullman library.
Pull quote
“Was he a flawed man? Of course he was, we all are. But to try to erase his contributions to our nation and Western civilization as a whole would be absolutely foolish and removing his portrait from the library would be asinine.”
- Pullman resident James Clark
The painting of the third U.S. President is part of the library’s collection of art pieces local artists gave to the library in 1980. There are dozens of art pieces from the collection displayed in rotation on a regular basis. The Jefferson painting, created by Dan Piel, hangs at the north entrance of the library.
The library received emails from several community members last month who shared concerns about the the painting being hung in a prominent location given that Jefferson was a slave owner.
James Clark spoke at the meeting and listed Jefferson’s contribution to America’s founding and expansion. He also brought up Jefferson’s vocal stance against slavery and a plan he proposed to Congress in 1784 to abolish slavery in new states by 1800.
“Was he a flawed man?” Clark asked. “Of course he was, we all are. But to try to erase his contributions to our nation and Western civilization as a whole would be absolutely foolish and removing his portrait from the library would be asinine.”
Donna Potts advocated the painting be removed from a place of prominence and encouraged people to read books about him to get a more nuanced understanding of his life.
“Thomas Jefferson might have been against institutional slavery, but he owned over 600 slaves,” she said, adding that he had a sexual relationship with one of his slaves and fathered multiple children by her.
Sarah Hamilton expressed dismay that people who see an image of Jefferson would immediately think about racism.
“I don’t think about it,” she said. “It doesn’t come to my mind.”
She said people need to get over this issue.
“People who are offended by that are people who are racists, personally, I think,” she said.
Terence Day said parents can use the portrait of Jefferson as an opportunity to teach the values they want their children to have. He said Jefferson was a great supporter of libraries and added that other founding fathers owned slaves, including George Washington.
“Are we going to ban Washington’s photograph or stick it in an out-of-the-way place because he owned slaves?” he said.
Pamela Awana Lee requested the library hang the portrait somewhere else in the building and be presented with educational information about Jefferson.
The Neill Public Library Board did not come to a decision on the painting Monday but wanted to use the meeting as an opportunity to hear public comment on the issue. The library also received several more emails from community members expressing their opinion.
Board member Dan LeBeau made a motion to table the discussion so the board has more time to research the city’s public art policies.
The “Art in Public Places” policy that was established in 2014 by the Pullman City Council states that a painting cannot be removed based on public opinion.
There is no language in the library’s own art acquisition policy that allows the removal of artwork from display.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
