Anti-Lynch Exhibit

To the Editor:

            An Anti-Lynch exhibition at the ACA Gallery, 55 West 8th Street is open to the public, from March 5 to March 16.

            This exhibition far surpasses that of the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People which was initiated for the purpose of gaining favor for the Costigan-Wagner Anti-Lynching hill, which bill, by the way does not include the death penalty for the lynchers.

            The superb astuteness of the NAACP was very effective because by their exhibition they appealed to both the sympathetic and artistic sense of the public. The Artists of the ACA Gallery also realized this. But their work was refused by the NAACP, not because of lack of merit but because the pictures were too gruesome.

            The exhibit. at the ACA gallery is far superior to that of the NAACP. There were many which I thought were finely executed.

            Mr. Walter Quirt's picture, for example. "Have Faith in the laity"'was a vivid portrayal of class struggle. The proverbial Uncle Tom pledged his aid to the victim: two Army men protected the symbol of the dollar. A mass of teachers and businessmen eagerly wailed to torture the victim.

            Another was Mr. William Siegel's: "Southern Scene." His work represents the Law Guzzling Gin, the Mother seeking justice, a house burning in the background, an Uncle Tom presenting a plan of reform and a minister calming the masses.

            Need I say more? Go to the exhibit and learn its value.

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May 20, 2004