[Luca]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl.../MNP5T81FE.DTL

This is weird. I don't want this topic to get too politically or racially charged, but I just think it's hypocritical of the NAACP to get so outraged at this. In my eyes, it's racist to want to exclude someone from something based entirely on his or her race or nationality. Furthermore, they lump this sculptor in with the entire People's Republic of China, tying him to human rights abuses that he has had nothing to do with.

I just don't think the NAACP is doing any good by constantly playing the race card at every turn. They should be fighting for equal treatment for everyone regardless of color. Dr. King certainly did... he wasn't a "black power" crusader, but rather a man who wanted everyone to be treated with equal respect and dignity. I can understand some of their concerns, but to come out against this as strongly as they have just seems wrong. I can see wanting an African American to do the sculpture, but why not let someone of a different race do it? And why act so insulted and offended at the situation? They're just blowing the whole thing out of proportion.

[chucker]

Idiots.

It should be obvious to anyone that MLK would have wanted the most fit sculptor to do it, regardless of "the color of their skin".

[kieran]

I agree.

The race card is being thrown around way too much these days.

If this sculptor is the best available, let them do it. Plain and simple.

[alcimedes]

Not just that, according to the search committee there isn't an african american artist who does this kind of work in granite/stone, so it makes it a bit of a moot point on the NAACP's part.

I doubt the committee would throw something like that out there unless they were sure, since the NAACP is going to be searching high and low for a qualified black artist.

[Banana]

If that's truly the case, NAACP is probably going to turn up a "artist" who is actually a construction worker with years of experience using a jackhammer.

[Banana]

Just want to address one unspoken assumption:

I hope that committee already has considered the possibility that sculpture isn't the only way to express respect for Dr. King, and that sculpture may be a poor fit with blacks' heritage; maybe they are more likely to paint watercolor than chisel a block of granite, I don't know, but that may be why they couldn't find an African scuplter?

[stevegong]

Seems to me that saying the guy shouldn't be chosen as the sculptor because of Chinese human rights issues and the such would be like disqualifying an American from a task because of discontent concerning the Bush administration, war in Iraq or the fact that Native Americans were killed.

Not sure how relevant a claim like that is.

I'd certainly be pretty offended if I were judged not by my artist talent but rather a technicality of nationality. What the NAACP is protesting about actually sounds pretty racist to me.

[autodata]

well, choosing a sculptor based on ethnicity is pretty stupid. I don't have a problem with keeping it american, though, and I can understand this criticism:

Lei is "renowned for his many sculptures and busts glorifying Mao Zedong, murderer of 70 million innocent Chinese, which is in direct opposition to Dr. King's philosophy and to the ideal of positive social change throughout the world,"

[Souflay123]

But their argument is in direct contradiction of their belief, they contend they cant choose this man b/c of human rights violations by his country... but they are instead perpetuating discrimination of chinese and asians in general b/c excluding this man.... Leave it up to them.... Now when is good old AL going to get on this and start his pointless banter and flapping of his lips....

[Luca]

The thing about the Mao Zedong, though... think about it. You're in an authoritarian society. You're a master sculptor. The government commissions you to do some sculptures. What do you think those sculptures will be of? And how can you say no to them? They'd have probably jailed him, if not outright executed him, if he had refused to work for them. And if he stood up to the government, then someone else would have done the job instead.

People forget, in our American society with free speech and a government that is at least somewhat tolerant of criticism, that people under oppressive governments are risking their lives if they say or do anything that contradicts their own government's ideas. No one born and raised in the United States has ever had to fight to overthrow their own government. No one here has fought a revolution. This guy probably had to live through at least one, if not two: first the overthrow of the ROC by the communists, and then the cultural revolution. What do people expect of him?

[Banana]

How old is Lei? I ask because if he was old enough, then I'd be inclined to agree with Luca, but I am under the impression that today's generation has much more freedom than the generation during Cultural Revolution (and that was a quite while ago), no?

[Luca]

The fact that some protesters have now started a site declaring "King is ours" just adds to it. Do they mean that the memory of and appreciation for Martin Luther King Jr's accomplishments belongs to African Americans and no one else? Again, it gives the impression of utterly missing the point of what MLK preached. His accomplishments didn't just benefit one group—the entire reason he was such a great man is because he made the world a better and more tolerant place for everyone.

I wasn't able to find out much about Lei Yixin, except that he's 54 years old and has been sculpting for more than 20 years. That means he must have been born in 1952 or 1953. Too young for the communist revolution, but he would have been a teenager during the cultural revolution (which began in 1966 and tapered off between 1969 and 1976).

I even found an article that begins in this way (emphasis mine):

A Chinese artist, Lei Yixin, who is not aware of Martin Luther King Jr., and his legacy, was selected by the King Memorial Foundation in Washington DC, to sculpt the late civil rights leader, Martin Luther King.

He isn't aware of MLK's legacy? Maybe he wasn't aware of the civil rights movement when it was happening, but you can hardly blame him, since he was a young kid in China at the time.

[stevegong]

The guy is 53 years old, so yes, he has experienced the Cultural Revolution. Not only that, he was in fact one of the unfortunate who got sent to the countryside.

...but here's an article from the post where it seems like Lei is not at all "not aware of Martin Luther King Jr., and his legacy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...081401691.html

He expresses his opinions on the second page.

For months, Lei buried himself in King's readings and speeches. At one point, every wall in his studio was covered with pictures of King. In the end, Lei's interpretation was this: Martin Luther King was a great man but also an ordinary man. "He is short and doesn't stand out in a crowd," he said. "But when his voice comes out, he's a leader. His charisma has attracted millions of Americans to follow his cause." So in his first clay model, Lei showed King standing, arms folded across his chest, his left hand grasping a pen. The goal, Lei said, is "when you see the statue of Martin Luther King, you might think of the injustices around the world, which call for our collaborative efforts . . . to bring to justice the things that King himself was unable to finish."

[zsummers]

Originally Posted by Banana Just want to address one unspoken assumption: I hope that committee already has considered the possibility that sculpture isn't the only way to express respect for Dr. King, and that sculpture may be a poor fit with blacks' heritage; maybe they are more likely to paint watercolor than chisel a block of granite, I don't know, but that may be why they couldn't find an African scuplter?

This comment went unnoticed, but I think it is a very good one.