Arlington Town Officials Allow Arts Commission To Hang Banner Downtown Depicting Police Officer Gassing Peaceful Black Protester
Gracie James was an Arlington High School student who died in a car accident in 2010.
After she passed away the family set up The Gracie James Foundation, which was designed to “focus on closing the gaps in systems of support for local teens.”
Since 2016 the foundation has begun funding the Arlington Commission for Arts And Culture’s annual banner design contest. The winners, which are chosen by three judges, are displayed prominently on town property in the middle of downtown. This year the theme was different:
Social, environmental, and economic justice. You can just imagine what handpicked judges from the Arlington Arts Commission would choose for that. After all, this is the same town where Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine forced police officers to remove thin blue line patches from their cars and uniforms while simultaneously flying a black lives matter banner in the front of town hall.
Thanks to blowback from our blog the town was pressured into removing this politically charged banner from town property.
This is the winning banner that now is flying in the middle of downtown Arlington, chosen by Arts Arlington.
Over 100 submissions were made, and they chose this one. This is what the Gracie James Foundation is paying for now. How do pictures depicting white police officers as violent Gestapo who tear gas peaceful black protesters for no reason align with the foundations’s mission to “focus on closing the gaps in systems of support for local teens?” It doesn’t. In reality the police used tear gas over the summer to disperse violent mobs that were looting and burning American cities.
Every child who drives by and sees this “art” now will be led to believe that the police are the bad guys. How do you expect to build trust between the community and the police if this is what we are teaching the kids the police stand for? The DPW put this banner up. The fact that the town is endorsing this by allowing it to hang on public property is a disgrace. It’s a slap in the face to the Arlington Police Department and another endorsement of the Marxist political group that burned down American cities last summer.
In reality Arlington is a wealthy and extremely white town, and there isn’t a single person who lives there who wouldn’t call the police the moment they need them. They don’t gas innocent black people. This hateful, divisive excuse for “art” should be removed immediately, and those who allowed it to go up be held responsible.
Adam Chapdelaine can be reached at [email protected]. Keep in mind, if you write an ignorant email that is in any way offensive or threatening, he will exclusively focus on your email, share it on social media, and pretend that it is representative of all emails he received in order to garner sympathy. Be respectful and professional if you do choose to write to him or any of the Arts Commissioners.
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