A Tale of Two Tails
We are leaving Birmingham after a few days of hard (very hard) introspection. We have been gradually introduced or re-introduced to the violence that has been, an continues to be, subjected to Black America. The beginning of the tour introduced us to the violence against the non-violent movement; however, the time in Montgomery and Birmingham has been a time of remembering the senseless violence against humanity propagated by segregation. From harassment, rape and lynching, the power of systemic power reigned over anyone and everyone seen as the “other”. Yesterday was a face-to-face visit with that violence, violence against children in Birmingham. Children!
My Tale of Two Tales begins in February 2020 (just a few weeks before the pandemic). Kris and I traveled to Birmingham to watch our son compete in the Track and Field Conference Championships in the 400-meter dash for Belmont University. We were thrilled that he ran well enough to qualify for finals and would be competing the next day in the Open and the 4×400 relay. To fill our time that evening, we walked around a shopping area in a very nice (affluent) part of Birmingham and during our walk from one store to the other, Kris stopped. She stood and stared at a sculpture of little kids joyfully playing with a dog, the children giggling as the dog bounded behind them. She just stood there! Fast forward to yesterday! I know better (now) why she stood there. Just several miles away is Kelly Ingram Park that tells a very different story of kids and dogs. Just across from the 16th Street Baptist Church, in Kelly Ingram Park, stands a statue of a police dog being unleashed on a child. A scene of terror. Two pieces of art in the same city telling two tales.
Two Tails, one dog’s tail is raised in a playful posture. The pup dutifully and obediently frolics with the children and sets of tone of joy. The other dog’s tail is rigid with ire. The dog dutifully and obediently obeys the officer, jaws set, teeth exposed to attack and sets a tone of horror. Two Tales. Downtown in the park tells a story of remembrance, of a dark time in America and the other………I’m not sure. I just can’t help but think that the playful sculpture is a reminder, a reminder to forget. A subtle reminder. This sculpture, placed in a busy, affluent shopping area with all the high-end stores purposely or un-purposely dulls the reality of the city’s history. Two histories! Two tales. Two tails.
On the bus now and reflecting on my history (what are my two histories?), my tales (what two tales do I have or do I tell?) and what are my two tails doing (our dogs, Didier and Fiona). More so, in our politically divided nations, what two tales do we have and/or subscribe to? Poor/rich, uninsured/insured, hungry/satiated, anger/love? As Christians, how do we keep tales from dulling our senses so the nonsense does not disturb our soul.
H. Scott Kieffer
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