Granted, it is not the most attractive work of art....but it is a true fresco which is in itself worth keeping as part of a program including art history and study of art techniques.
The irony is the black students organization [which claims to represent all black students though I doubt all black students have a say in what it does] wants this thing gone because it reminds them of the very past from which they derive their group identity and gives them the excuse they need to have a segregated group of their own. If they succeed in disposing of imagery of the past then what will thy have let to make whites feel guilty that their ancestors enslaved their ancestors?
Should we also quit teaching about Spartacus’ slave revolt or making movies about Rome and persecution of Christians because it makes the descendants of Roman slaves, or descendants of Christians that were fed to the lions feel uncomfortable to be reminded of their one-time status?
If anything the 1930s fresco - supposedly the only true fresco in the country- probably makes more whites uncomfortable than blacks, depicting as it does not just slavery but racial and class segregation and likely other uncomfortable historical facts of life as well. It’s not just an example of the fresco technique but an example of 1930s attitudes and morality or the lack thereof that could be used in teaching about the period - and that it was done by a woman in a time when men still dominated the arts makes it a part of women’s history as well and not just black history or Kentucky history.