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Controversy brewing for months over a mural in the city’s Leaksville district has made its way to the City Council.

Elretha Perkins told council members Tuesday night that there are many residents who are opposed to the mural that depicts black men directing bateau traffic along the Dan River during the late 1700s and 1800s. And she offered more than 750 signatures on a petition as proof of that opposition.

Perkins and other members of the minority community feel that the 36-foot mural — unveiled in November as part of the Bricolage Arts Festival — looks like a scene from the days of slavery, and they want it modified.

“We’d like to see it changed, and we want the true history told,” Perkins, owner of Perkins Professional Day Care, said Wednesday.

According to local historian Lindley Butler,who was consulted on the mural project, many of the men who guided the traffic were slaves and free blacks. Those boatmen are considered to be the roots of entrepreneurship in the black community, Butler said.

On a sign at the site, Butler writes: “The most prominent figures in the mural, the African American boatmen in the foreground, reflect dignity and the community’s respect for them. The little-known role of these boatmen is honored by this mural, which proclaims their important legacy to the community.”

Mayor John Grogan said that in order for the city to recognize the petition, Perkins must get addresses to go along with the names. Although Grogan said he has spoken to a number of Eden’s minority residents who are pleased with the mural, he said he is not against having it changed.

“I would like to see everyone happy,” Grogan said.

The Bricolage Arts Festival brought together artists from across the Piedmont Triad to create new artwork.

The mural was painted by Madison artist Kitty Williams and Jack Stone of McLeansville.

Bricolage helped fund the project, but the city owns the mural, and thus the decision on whether to change it lies with city officials, said Anne Willson, Bricolage’s founding director.

Williams and Grogan previously have met with community members who would like to see the mural changed or replaced.
Williams was tasked with painting a mural about riverboat traffic. She said learning of blacks’ contributions to the area’s commerce — and being able to detail that in her art — excited and thrilled her.

“If they hadn’t been on the river pushing those boats around, there would have been no Rockingham County,” Williams said.

Before any final decision is made, Williams would like for the mural’s detractors to see it as she intended it.

A scene that has caused some concern shows what appears to be a white man sitting in the boat playing a banjo while the black men direct traffic.

The reason for the banjo, Williams said, is to depict Eden’s rich musical history. And the banjoist is a passenger exchanging a little music for a ride from the boat captain — one of the black men.

“I didn’t see him as getting a free ride and just having fun, but I can see how people would see it that way,” Williams said.

Another scene that opponents have taken issue with depicts a white child tugging on the apron of a young black woman with a scarf covering her head, leading to the belief she is the child’s caretaker.

Not true, said Williams. The child is steadying himself using the girl’s skirt. And the girl, who Williams envisioned to be about 10 years old, has been playing with the child, not taking care of him.

As for the scarf? Williams said she wore one herself when she was a child.

“It was just something that people wore on their heads. I didn’t want another hat,” said Williams, speaking of all the men wearing hats in the mural. “I wanted a bright spot of color.”

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com