A Discovery of Self; Ignorance of Black History Fuels Artist's Works

Summary

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The 20-foot statue of Washington, the only one in the city, portrays the late mayor in a standing position, holding a rolled up newspaper in his right hand. Dwight said he came up with the pose after looking at "some killer pictures," one of which was a silhouette of him leaning on a chair. Dwight knew that was the one that captured the essence of Washington. "So, I just took his arms off the chair," said Dwight. "And I played up some of his characteristics, so here he is."

"([Alderman Dorothy Tillman]) said, '[Ed Dwight Jr.], I want that sculpture outdoors,'" Dwight recalled. "God, I was glad she said that."

"It happened really fast, mainly because there wasn't much funding for it," said Dwight, who Tillman said virtually did the statue for free. "I did this in about two months."

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A Discovery of Self; Ignorance of Black History Fuels Artist's Works

For more than half of his life, Ed Dwight Jr. would readily admit that he would be the last Black person on earth who should be commissioned for a work of art representing Black history.

"I didn't know who Harriet Tubman was until I was 40-years-old," said Dwight, 72.

Yet today, Dwight's powerful and evocative sculptures of historical African American peopl...

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