Ferguson: The telling is in the art

by Kathie MM

Artists, musicians, and poets often seem to have a special capacity for empathy and a driving need to use their gifts to resist violence and oppression. Their work makes a chronically troubled world a better place, a place where hope can survive,  resistance to violence can grow, and diverse peoples can join together for good.

A spectacular recent example of art and poetry as vehicles for peace and reconciliation can be found in the book, Painting for Peace in Ferguson.

This book is advertised as a children’s book; it has been viewed as a resource for helping children deal with the “national tragedy” that rocked Ferguson, MO, in 2014, when an unarmed 18-year-old man of color, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white policeman, and the community erupted in protests that turned violent .

As a children’s book, Painting for Peace in Ferguson is a deserving inclusion on the 2016 Teachers’ Choices Reading List.   But it is far more than a children’s book.

Like its companion piece, Painting for Peace: A Coloring Book for All Ages , it is a beautiful and inspiring book for every human being with a heart that can be moved by loss and by pain, and by recovery and healing. It is rich enough in color, words, and message to deserve a place of honor on a coffee table, an engaging item for all eyes.

The author, Carol Swartout Klein,  has gifted us not just with eye-delighting artwork from the boarded up windows in post-riot Ferguson, and not just with moving photographs of volunteers working to substitute art for wreckage, and not just with messages of peace from inspiring sources, but also with hope, with inspiration, and with appreciation for the power of a community that works together to heal.

Proceeds from the sale of Painting for Peace in Ferguson and Painting for Peace: A Coloring Book for All Ages are being re-invested in arts and education programs in the community of Ferguson. The healing goes on.