Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A billboard reading “There Are Black People in the Future” - removed from a building in East Liberty because the landlord said it violated a lease agreement prohibiting “distasteful, offensive, erotic, political…” content - may go back up, according to a statement from the landlord Friday morning.
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The landlord's comment at the end is honestly what white people always sound like after they are told they are being racist. Of course it is racist to take the sign down. Nothing about the sign is offensive. It is true that there are black people in the future. In fact more people will be black because more and more people will be having mixed race babies. The sign is simply fact, stated in a concise and clear way. The people who find it offensive are actually also racist. They are essentially saying that they don't want there to be black people in the future or at least that they don't want to see it. White people really don't understand racism which I find very ironic as they literally created it. The people of East Liberty deserve better than a ton of gentrifiers coming in and stepping all over their space. Though this article made me really angry it also makes me want to do more for my neighborhood which is currently being gentrified. I think when I go home I'll get involved in some "political" art about it.
Since this article doesn’t give the reader a full context of the situation or the exact complaints to wanting the sign to bring down I had a hard time understanding what was wrong with the sign. The sign is simply stating a truth and if people find it hard to look at and understand then that’s something they need to think about and look within themselves to maybe understand why they struggle to see the words “There are Black People in the Future”. I think this billboard comment though appearing simple to read on the outside, packs in a lot of honest truths about this country and our reluctance to accept black people as part of our community and part of this country. Black people have been here in the past, they are here now in the present, and they will be here in the future. This sign is pointing out that we should have never ignored the black citizens of this country and world, and as we move into the future we need to understand and accept that black people will be here too.
It is hard to know how to feel about this situation, because it seems like this article is not really giving readers the full picture about the before and after. If this has always been the policy of the building to remove billboards that are political in nature, and they have taken other billboards down that are deemed political then I would understand this. Obviously this is a statement of fact, however, given the complex conversations about race that we are having in this country due to our political situation a statement like this is inherently intended to be political. There are many factual statements such as this that are politically charged. If there was a billboard that said, “There are X number of abortions each year” or “there are x number of gun deaths each year”, both of those statements are true, but would both be trying to make a political statement. As a private entity the building has the right to the restrict what its property is used for since the 1st amendment only prevents the government from restricting speech. I think it is also important to look at it from the building’s perspective that having overtly political content on their building, no matter how factual it is, presents a liability. Racists and alt-right individuals could deface or damage the building, because of that content. While we may not find the content offensive or even disagree with the sentiment, it is important to recognize that the building has the right to regulate what is on its billboards. What will be truly telling is if content from the opposite end of the political spectrum is NOT removed in the future. Hopefully the building will be consistent.
I remember learning about this billboard freshman year when I first went to East Liberty for a Susan project. I was surprised people could post whatever they wanted with very few regulations pertaining to the content of the signage. I am a little disappointed that this particular message got taken down early because of some political controversy, but maybe it’s the start of this project getting a little bit more edgy. I would be happy to see more thought provoking statements in this project and in other projects, especially when they are as topical as a “black people in the future” statement in the gentrifying East Liberty neighborhood. Something that bothers a lot of people about public art is the statements that the art makes in specific areas, but to me, that is what makes the art so substantial and relevant and purposeful in being where it is. Everything is a choice in art, especially location.
I was shocked when I first heard that this sign was taken down. I remember a few weeks ago shopping in East Liberty and having to actually stop in my tracks to fully look at the sign. It immediately caught my attention, and I remember thinking how concise and powerful reading the statement “There are black people in the future” felt. Apparently this billboard was a project that is considered “contextual art”, which is a concept I would like to learn more about. Public art that makes people stop their busy day-to-day lives and consider what they are seeing in front of them is incredibly powerful to me, especially because it feels like now more than ever people are engrossed in the digital, often times invisible part of their lives rather than what they are directly experiencing. As evidenced by this billboard, this type of public contextual art does not have to be vastly metaphorical and convoluted but instead can be short and to the point, which is often more profound.
I am thrilled to hear that the billboard will go back up. I’m honestly surprised that the message was taken down in the first place, but honestly worse and more unexpected things have been happening recently. I think that the message being broadcast is not one of tension, or division in any way, but simply a reminder to any black person who feels down, and oppressed. It’s a message of hope saying that no matter what happens you will still be here in the future and no one can take that away. I also love hearing about Jon Rubin’s project that allowed this message to go up in the first place. Having a space that changes each month, spreading the words of artists is wonderful and makes me feel good about my place in the world as an artist. I hope that this project keeps going and is never disrupted.
I am really glad that this sign is going back up. It seems as though the sign being taken down provoked a discussion, the discussion came to a conclusion, and the right thing was done in the end. Maybe it was a good thing that they sign was taken down in the first place if it made people think about things. It is obviously a good thing that the sign is going back up. I hope that the people who wanted it to come down ask themselves why they wanted it to come down, really, and why other people thought it was so important to have it go back up. I know they probably will not think deeply or critically about it. I hope that, at the very least, they learn to live with it. I hope they learn to not get angry when they pass it, or to continue to make a fuss about it. As I said in my comment on the previous article about this, the real problem here is that people were so upset at a message like this in their neighborhood. I hope this event changes at least a few people’s minds and perspectives.
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