Free Republic

The summer season has ripped off the thin scab that covered an American wound, revealing a festering disagreement about the nature and origins of the United States. The San Francisco Board of Education recently voted to paint over, and thus destroy, a 1,600-square-foot mural of George Washington's life in San Francisco's George Washington High School. Victor Arnautoff, a communist Russian-American artist and Stanford University art professor, had painted "Life of Washington" in 1936, commissioned by the New Deal's Works Progress Administration. A community task force appointed by the school district had recommended that the board address student and parent objections...

A San Francisco school district may remove an 83-year-old mural of President George Washington from, ironically, George Washington High School because it “traumatizes students and community members.” The work of artist Victor Arnautoff, a communist, may no longer be progressive enough for “Fog City.” His 13 panels for the high school, created in 1936, have been deemed problematic by the San Francisco Unified School District. Officials say some the artist’s historical depictions are offensive to Native Americans and blacks. Laura Dudnick, a spokeswoman for the district, told educational watchdog the College Fix via email Thursday that Mr. Arnautoff’s work was...