It Has Nothing to do with Racism. It's Pure Economics.
DraftsmanDrawn by
Edmund S. Valtman
(American, 1914 - 2005)
Date1973
MediumDrawing; pencil, black ink, and collage elements, including halftone patterns printed in black printer's ink, on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions: 12 1/2 x 10 3/4in. (31.8 x 27.3cm)
Sheet: 14 1/4 x 11 1/4in. (36.2 x 28.6cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Ellsworth S. Grant
Object number2011.182.1
DescriptionA man dressed as a pilgrim is standing within a stockade with a sign that reads "WEST / HARTFORD". He is holding a megaphone labeled "[Ellsworth] GRANT". Individuals stakes in the palisade are labeled "HIGH TAXES" "HIGH COST OF LIVING" "HIGH COST OF LAND" "DEMAND FOR SKILLED LABOR" "NO DEMAND FOR UNSKILLED LABOR". A group of men and women who appear to be Hispanic or African-American hold picket signs that read "GRANT / IS A / RACIST" and "WHY / EXCLUDE / US?"
NotesSubject Note: Ellsworth Grant was mayor of West Hartford from 1969 to 1973. He was considered by some to be elitist. When a community action group filed complaints with the Department of Housing and Urban Development trying to force the town into a more aggressive equal opportunity program, Grant responded that "Anyone who can afford to move to West Hartford is welcome to do so, regardless of his background. It's simply a matter of economics. West Hartford is an expensive place to live." Such statements were thought to discourage minorities from seeking homes in West Hartford. Valtman's cartoon portraying Grant as a Puritan guarding a stockade against a group of minority picketers, appeared in the Hartford Times on October 25, 1973. (Finlay 5/27/2011)Status
Not on view
Mardon Walker
12 June 2020
