By Olivia Taylor.

Fans of Parks and Recreation may remember an episode which revolves around a 1930’s mural painted on the walls of Pawnee City Hall. In the show, the mural was vandalized by offended citizens because it depicted racist scenes from U.S. history. In response to the public’s unease, the town renamed the mural and wrote a statement instructing viewers that they should consider the piece as both historically important and artistic, yet horrifying and shameful.

While re-contextualizing controversial historical art apparently makes for good social/comedic commentary, it is also a real phenomenon that has confronted public art in the recent years. This narrative hit home when it was discovered that Simka Simkhovitch, artist and great grandfather to the author, painted a courthouse mural in Jackson, Mississippi in 1937, which later became controversial. The story…