Vermont

Can Vermont Law School Cover Its ‘Racist’ Mural? Second Circuit Says Yes. – Above the Law

Published

10 months ago

August 23, 2023

Can Vermont Law School Cover Its ‘Racist’ Mural? Second Circuit Says Yes. – Above the Law

Vermont Law School has been knee deep in legal controversy over a mural for almost two years now. Legally speaking, there was a simple question: does the Visual Artists Rights Act prevent covering up an artist’s work? The messy bit comes from the intent and reception of the artwork. Sam Kerson created a mural that celebrated Vermont’s participation in the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately for him, several students and faculty members of Vermont Law didn’t think that the intent of the mural made up for an art style that they claim, among other things, depicted Black people as Sambos. The Second Circuit has issued a ruling, and it ain’t in Kerson’s favor. From the ABA Journal:

Murals that are deemed to be “offensive” can be covered up, despite an artist’s objections that such actions violate their rights, according to a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York.

For the curious, said rights include the right to prevent distortions, mutilations, or modifications of an artwork that may impact the artist’s honor or reputation. Carrying on…

In an Aug. 18 opinion, the federal appeals court held that “merely ensconcing a work of art behind a barrier neither modifies nor destroys the work, as contemplated by [the Visual Artists Rights Act].”
…
“Authors of qualifying works of visual art may invoke VARA to prevent the modification and destruction of their art, albeit with some exceptions. But hiding the murals behind a barrier neither modifies nor destroys them and, therefore, does not violate VARA,” the 2nd Circuit said, in affirming the lower court.

And with that, it looks like the abolitionist mural will be locked behind a covering.

Personally, I don’t think that the mural is offensive. Sure, there are some distortions and less-than realistic skin coloration, but you should consider the style of art that the piece was done in when you’re making your aesthetic assessments. It would be easy for someone to look at The Sugar Shack and complain that the Black figures are hypersexualized, lanky, and have spines that would even make comic artists wince at the abuses of physiology, but they’d also be missing the point. Ernie Barnes’s painting is jazz incarnate — he was going for vibrancy and affect, not realism. Far from subtracting from the message, the spiny figures and exaggerated gestures capture the rapture of people letting loose in a North Carolina dance hall precisely because of the departure from a strict commitment to realistic figures. Looking at Kerson’s mural and factoring in its abolitionist bent, I’m inclined to forgive that the slave owners that are being put to death have sickly green skin.

I’m also quick to realize that I have no real skin in the game! Unlike the faculty and students of Vermont Law, I do not have to spend my days walking to and from class with the damned thing in my line of vision. Whether it’s a statue of Columbus or a school changing its name after discovering its namesake may have dabbled in hunting Natives for sport, the decisions, who makes them, and how they are implemented should center the people who are directly involved with the art and related history at hand.

So, before this gets blown up as some generalized conflict about campus free speech and wokeness gone rampant, I’d like the commend the students and faculty at Vermont Law that put the work in to change the community for their perceived better. And, if the tides change and people begin to think differently about the mural, they could always take the covers down!

…They may also ultimately be forced to. Kerson’s attorney, Steve Hyman, doesn’t seem very happy with the Second Circuit’s decision. From Law and Crime:

“The very purpose of VARA was to preserve, protect art and to prevent changes to the art that would prejudice the honor and integrity of the artist,” Hyman said. “Permanently entombing murals over 8′ x 24′ that cannot be moved and can never be seen again is contrary to what Congress clearly intended in enacting the statute.”
Hyman said he was considering all options going forward.

As it stands, Kerson is that guy whose racist-ass mural at Vermont Law School got covered up — I get why he’d want to appeal this outcome. While few cases make it to the Supreme Court, I, for one, would love to see how the justices break on the issue of an artist’s honor and reputation with regard to their work. Especially Kagan and Sotomayor.

‘Offensive’ Murals Can Be Covered, Despite Federal Law Protecting Artists, 2nd Circuit Says [ABA Journal]
Muralist Who Depicted Enslaved People As ‘Cartoonish, Almost Animalistic’ Loses Lawsuit [Law And Crime]

Earlier: Temporary Win For Vermont Law School’s Right To Veil
Hyperallergic Has Sneezing Fit Over Black Art

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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Vermont

Woman charged with trying to smuggle $40K worth of turtles across Vermont lake to Quebec | CBC News

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Press Room

Woman charged with trying to smuggle $40K worth of turtles across Vermont lake to Quebec | CBC News

A woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to border patrol agents.

Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vt., as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in U.S. federal court. United States Customs and Border Protection agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit.

The agents searched her heavy duffle bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for about $1,400 each, according to the affidavit.

Ng is charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge on Friday ordered that she remain detained. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment.

Border patrol agents first spotted Ng at the Airbnb rental in May when they noticed a vehicle with Ontario plates travelling on a Vermont road in Canaan in an area used by smugglers, they said. Lake Wallace has been used for human and narcotic smuggling, the affidavit states. The vehicle had entered the U.S. in Alburgh, Vt., agents said.

Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa with an intended destination of Fort Lee, N.J., the affidavit states. Border patrol agents learned on June 18 that she had again entered the U.S. in Buffalo in a vehicle with a Quebec plate and was expected to arrive at the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, the affidavit states. They then started to surveil the property.

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Vermont

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

Published

10 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Press Room

The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, July 3-9

click to enlarge

Courtesy Of Phil Bobrow
Fourth of July Parade and Festivities

Marching Orders

Thursday 4

The town of Warren steps lively at its singular 4th of July Parade and Festivities. The procession of quirky floats and merry musicians is followed by hot dogs, a street dance and a unique get-to-know-your-neighbors scheme: Pay $1 for a numbered “Buddy Badge,” then find the other person in the crowd with the same number and you’ll both win a prize.

Truth to Power

Friday 5

click to enlarge Reading Frederick Douglass - COURTESY

Courtesy
Reading Frederick Douglass

Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh marks Independence Day with its annual Reading Frederick Douglass event. Audience members take part by reading portions of the abolitionist, orator and statesman’s famous address “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Douglass first gave the powerful speech on July 5, 1852, as the keynote at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Come Together

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Bondeko - COURTESY

Bondeko bring a multicultural mélange to the Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series in Putney. The musicians in the Portland, Maine-based outfit span generations and originally hail from Albania, Guinea, Paris and Austin, Texas, creating a sound that’s an unlikely — and unforgettable — collaboration.

Into the Woods

Saturday 6

click to enlarge Ellen "LN" Bethea - COURTESY OF CATHERINE ARANDA-LEARNED

Courtesy Of Catherine Aranda-learned
Ellen “LN” Bethea

Vermont Humanities marks two anniversaries — its own 50th and the 100th of Vermont State Parks — with its Words in the Woods series. In the second of five gatherings, listeners soak in the natural beauty at Kill Kare State Park in St. Albans as spoken word poet Ellen “LN” Bethea (pictured) shares her work. Stay and enjoy the day at the park afterward: Entrance fees are covered for participants.

Swan Song

Sunday 7

click to enlarge Cynthia Huard - COURTESY

The Rochester Chamber Music Society salutes one of its own at the Federated Church of Rochester when pianist Cynthia Huard plays her final concert, a coda to her 30 years as the group’s artistic director. She’s joined by cellist Ani Kalayjian and violinists Adda Kridler and Mary Rowell in a bittersweet program that includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré and native Vermonter Nico Muhly.

Fête the Farm

Wednesday 10

click to enlarge

Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon - COURTESY

Courtesy
Pizza social at Miller Farm in Vernon

Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont hosts a Pizza Social at Miller Farm in Vernon, part of a summerlong series highlighting historic farms and hardworking farmers around the state. Foodies enjoy wood-fired pizza and soft-serve ice cream made from Miller Farm milk before a hayride and farm tour. Catch upcoming installments of the series in Middletown Springs, Shoreham, Johnson, East Hardwick and North Thetford.

Paint the Town

Ongoing

click to enlarge "Carnival at Royalton, VT" by Cecil C. Bell - COURTESY

Courtesy
“Carnival at Royalton, VT” by Cecil C. Bell

If you missed last summer’s attendance-record-breaking exhibitions of “For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection,” here’s another chance. The Vermont Historical Society presents a reprise showing at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. The selection of 20th-century works by Vermont artists is a love letter to the Green Mountain State.

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Vermont

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

Published

17 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

Health officials warn of possible measles exposure in Upper Valley

State health officials are investigating a possible measles exposure in the Upper Valley.

Vermont and New Hampshire health officials say there are currently no confirmed cases of the measles in either state.

But New Hampshire’s public health division is looking into a report of an international traveler contracting measles shortly after visiting the town of Hanover.

Officials say the traveler could have been potentially infectious while in various public places June 20-22, including Dartmouth College’s campus. The list of locations released by the health department is below:

June 20-22: Dartmouth College campus, Hanover
June 20-22: The Hanover Inn, 2 E Wheelock St., Hanover
June 20, 3 p.m.: Hanover Scoops, 57 S Main St., Hanover
June 20-22: Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery, 30 S Main St., Hanover (one meal, unknown date and time)
June 22: Dartmouth Coach Bus from Hanover to Boston Logan Airport (unknown time)

For people who were in the area on those days, and who aren’t vaccinated or haven’t previously had the measles, officials recommend monitoring for symptoms.
Those include high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes several days before developing a body rash.

Officials ask that people who do feel sick to call their provider before getting treatment to help prevent possible spread of the virus.

Experts say the measles is a preventable disease, and that the vaccine for it is safe and effective.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.

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