By Lance Murphey
"I personally don't see anything controversial about it," Bolton High principal Snowden Carruthers says of a mural that's to be painted over.
Some people's favorite wine is any loud whine.
Posted on 08/16/2003 6:36:46 AM PDT by 07055
Bolton High School blotted out a likeness of founder Wade Bolton after a teacher's complaint that a mural of the 19th Century planter and slave trader was "too Confederate."
Principal Snowden 'Butch' Carruthers said a faculty committee decided Friday to paint over the new mural to avoid offending anyone.
Wade Bolton left money to establish Bolton College in northeast Shelby County when he was shot dead in a feud in 1869.
The college became a county school in the early 1920s, and Bolton's trust fund still supports the school.
The Class of 2003 gave art teacher Christy Burns an $1,800 commission to paint a historical mural as a parting gift.
She completed the painting a couple of weeks ago on a wall outside the library.
A teacher took offense at a gray-clad Wade Bolton flanked by Tennessee and school flags.
The image of Bolton was based on a photo of his funereal statue in Historic Elmwood Cemetery.
"Some people thought it looked too Confederate," Carruthers said. "I personally don't see anything controversial about it."
Carruthers said the critic, whom he declined to identify, thought Bolton's clothing resembled a Confederate soldier's uniform and Tennessee's three-star flag looked like a Rebel flag.
After registration Aug. 5, the mural was covered with cloth pending a discussion by faculty advisers about whether it should be altered or removed.
Students were told it was covered because it wasn't completed.
County school spokesman Mike Tebbe said the committee decided to paint over the mural.
"They want everyone here when they come through the doors of Bolton High to feel comfortable and not be concerned about what's on the wall," he said. "It's going to be a nice white wall shortly."
The decision came after county school officials viewed the mural over the past week.
"All I looked at was here's something honoring the benefactor and all that he did for that school," said county school board member Ron Lollar, whose district includes Bolton.
Carruthers said the discussion was distracting from more important matters, namely fitting nearly 2,400 students in buildings designed for about 2,200.
About 18 percent of Bolton's students are black.
Carruthers said he'll use school money to pay for another project for last spring's seniors to make up for the lost mural.
"I'm disappointed it's just being dismissed," Burns said. The 33-year-old second-year teacher has been a mural artist for about 15 years.
"I do feel this is a commissioned work of art that was paid for by a class, and the class has never seen it," Burns added. "The way it's being resolved is a negative. I don't think it's beneficial to either party."
Jennifer Muirhead, a Bolton senior and art student, was shocked by school officials' decision.
"Oh my gosh!" she said. "It's ridiculous to me. It infuriates me that this is happening.
"Pretty much nobody knew about it," she said. "The teachers were told to tell students it was an art project that wasn't finished yet."
"The thing I heard was people were offended that Wade Bolton was a slave owner. That's just factual history."
Shelby County Historian Ed Williams, a board member of the Bolton College trust, said, "Without Wade Bolton there wouldn't be a school."
The trust funnels revenues from Bolton's former plantation, called Hoboken, into the school and its students, Williams said.
It paid for half a new football stadium 15 years ago and for the past decade has provided scholarships for top Bolton students who don't qualify for other college scholarships - about $84,000 annually in recent years. <p
What a crock!! His clothes look nothing like a confederate uniform.
Even though they won't say who complained, that person will not be able to keep their mouth shut. They will be so smug over their power play, they will talk.
Becki
This all looks to me like one more example of the government schools perverting history to further contemporary PC agendas.
That's bound to offend someone also.
"I personally don't see anything controversial about it," Bolton High principal Snowden Carruthers says of a mural that's to be painted over.
Some people's favorite wine is any loud whine.
"Bolton High School enjoys a rich and unique history in Shelby County, Tennessee. The current campus exists on the former Hoboken Plantation owned by Wade H. Bolton. Upon his death in 1869, the prominent land owner set aside 1,200 acres for the founding of an agricultural college. Bolton operated as an agricultural college and teacher's preparatory school from 1887 to 1911, whereupon it became part of the Shelby County School system. By 1925, Bolton had been designated as a secondary school and has remained a part of Shelby County Schools ever since.
"The Administration of Wade Bolton's will involves Bolton High School in the oldest active court case in Shelby County. As a result of this bequest, Bolton High School exists as the only land grant secondary school in the state of Tennessee. In its more than 100 years of service to Shelby County, Bolton High School has proven to be an integral part of the history and education of the citizens of Northeast Shelby County."
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