In San Francisco, a city where there are no sculptures or monuments honoring Black Women, a monument to Maya Angelou was slated to be the first. On August 9, 2019, Lava Thomas’ proposed sculpture “Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman” was selected to receive the commission by a San Francisco Art Commission panel tasked with making that decision. The panel consisted of Bay Area art professionals who are experts in their respective fields.

They came from a pool of Bay Area artists, curators, educators, representatives from the San Francisco Public Library and the Commission on the Status of Women. Lava Thomas’ proposal received the highest ranking in a public process that was transparent and democratic. Two weeks after Thomas was notified that her proposal was selected, she was told that her proposal would not be approved, without explanation. 

The Visual Arts Committee (VAC), and San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 2 representative Supervisor Catherine Stefani and the Board of Supervisors violated their own code of ethics, mission statement and values. They also violated city ordinance 243-18.

This is institutionalized racism and sexism. In this moment of racial reckoning for the myriad of ways that violence is enacted against Black Lives, and monuments to white supremacy are being pulled down around the country, institutions are acknowledging how systemic racism informs their practices and are taking steps toward restorative action. It’s time for the Visual Arts Committee, a sub committee of the SFAC to make redress for its mishandling of the original RFQ for a Sculpture to Honor Dr. Maya Angelou for the San Francisco Public Library and to end the colonial and racist ideology that informs how monuments to Black women are to be represented in the public realm. We demand the following:

See Black Womxn Demands of the SFAC

  1. The Visuals Arts Committee of The San Francisco Arts Commission, and Supervisor Catherine Stefani make a PUBLIC APOLOGY to Lava Thomas and the Black Women who participated in the selection panel before the one year anniversary of this debacle, August 9th, 2020.

  2. The SFAC Commissioners STOP empowering Supervisor Catherine Stefani, Visual Arts Committee Chair, Dorka Keehn, and all non Black women to dictate the artistic representation of Black women.

  3. The SFAC CEASE its current call for the reissued Maya Angelou RFQ process until the 2019 project is resolved and acknowledged with a public statement conducted with restorative justice practices that are transparent and deemed acceptable by the See Black Women collective.

  4. The SFAC Commissionsers CHANGE the language in the next RFQ from “statue” to “artwork.”

  5. San Francisco Arts Commissioner Dorka Keehn and Supervisor Catherine Stefani resign immediately.

  6. The SFAC Commissioners must DISCLOSE the fiscal and legislative sponsors behind the Maya Angelou sculpture commission in general and specifically those who participated in rejecting Lava Thomas’ selected work.

  7. The SFAC PROVIDE evidence that its staff and  all of its Commissioners and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors show proof that they have participated in and are accountable to their Racial Equity Statements.

  8. Mayor London Breed immediately begin the conversation regarding public monuments with Black Women starting with Lava Thomas and See Black Womxn. “Who and what we honor through our public art can and should reflect our values.” - London Breed

  9. EXPLAIN who has the authority to decide what “artwork” is. (See Image of Ordinance 243-18 Referenced Below)

 
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Actions Towards Accountability

The SFAC must institute policies and structures of accountability to verify equity, diversity and inclusion and access in all of its endeavors.  

In order to be part of the solution to represent Black women, the SFAC must eliminate egregious, racist acts by public officials in dictating, invisibilizing and silencing Black Women. The SFAC needs to institute a public plan to hire Black Women and ensure equitable compensation for Black Women. The SFAC needs to work with members of the See Black Women collective for the city’s current process evaluating monuments in the San Francisco Bay Area as consultants who will provide a report to the SFAC and committee upon completion.

In addition, we demand that the SFAC and all of its committees adhere to its mission statement and regularly report on its plan to hire Black Women artists, curators and staff giving Oakland and San Francisco applicants first priority. The SFAC and all its committees and commissioners MUST enroll, participate and be certified in racial equity and diversity training programs. This ensures that the SFAC and all of its committees and commissioners  are compliant in fulfilling their objectives outlined in their Racial Equity Statement 2019 - 2020.

Time is up For Racist Institutions

Our sense of urgency cannot be overstated. As artists and members of academic communities, organizations and public institutions, it is our moral responsibility to show leadership in combating the TARGETED, violent, disabling, discriminatory, racist and institutionalized policies in order to ensure a livable future for ourselves and all Black Women artists for generations to come. The time of not seeing us, not paying us, not being transparent and accountable for the injustice committed to us by you is OVER.