Indiana Students Demand Removal Of 'Offensive' Thomas Hart Benton Painting Honoring Triumph Over KKK

Indiana Students Demand Removal Of 'Offensive' Thomas Hart Benton Painting Honoring Triumph Over KKK

Should every historical reference that evokes negative emotions be removed from campus?

The Indiana mural by Thomas Hart Benton is an homage to the Indiana press for breaking the Klan's grip on power in the state, but critics say its depictions of the KKK aren't just historical.

Nearly 1,600 signatories are asking the school to take down or cover the offending panel from A Social History of Indiana (1933), also known as the Indiana murals. But others are speaking up in support of the artwork, contending that Benton was looking to draw attention to the evils of the Klan.

“It is past time that Indiana University take a stand and denounce hate and intolerance in Indiana and on IU’s campus,” reads the petition, which argues that exposing students and faculty of color to the image of the KKK stands in violation of the school’s diversity policy and the student Right to Freedom From Discrimination."