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A 12-foot Black woman now stands tall in Times Square—and some folks are big mad about it
A 12-foot Black woman now stands tall in Times Square—and some folks are big mad about it

Yahoo

time09-05-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

A 12-foot Black woman now stands tall in Times Square—and some folks are big mad about it

The statue, titled 'Grounded in the Stars,' installed by British artist Thomas J. Price is meant to challenge assumptions of representation and identity. A 12-foot bronze statue of a Black woman with braids, wearing casual everyday wear in Times Square has people talking. While a new installation, or anything, really in New York City's most famous tourist stop doesn't usually stop the throngs of people moving through, the installation, titled 'Grounded in the Stars' has started conversations, both good and bad online and in the streets of 'The Big Apple.' The Black woman is standing tall, unbothered…basically, chillin', hands on her hips, all day, everyday. Unbothered is a popular word nowadays. She is every woman, and every woman is she. The statue was allegedly inspired by Michaelangelo's 'David.' Installed by British artist, Thomas J. Price, the statue is one of two installations intended to challenge people's assumptions about identity and representation. The description of the installation reads, 'Through scale, materiality, and posture, 'Grounded in the Stars' disrupts traditional ideas around what defines a triumphant figure and challenges who should be rendered immortal through monumentalization.' Located at Broadway and 46th Street, the installation will be up until June 17. Price, in a statement on Times Square's website said, 'The intention of my public works is to become part of the place they inhabit and its physical, material history, as well as the visitors that pass through and around the location, no matter how fleeting.' His other installation, titled 'Man Series' is a 95 screen installation of stop-motion animation of the heads of 'sculpted male figures' that pop up from 11:57pm until midnight every night in May. Needless to say, Price's installations have people talking. And not exactly in a positive fashion. 'You know what's cooler than this? Policy change,' said one user on Instagram. Another said, 'Ehhh this is pandering. And why not an in-shape woman? Why not a woman with great achievements? Cmon now. Whose idea was this?' One user asked, essentially, who exactly this was supposed to represent? 'So they think we are overweight and don't know how to dress?' One user questioning why Black people were sharing any negativity asked, 'Why yall hate yall self so much? 90% of yall mothers look exactly like this.' 'I love it – because why did she need to look like and African godess [sic]. This looks like the black women I ride next too in the train and they need to be celebrated too. This is aunty , cousin , sister vibes,' said another, who probably got closest to the sentiment of the the artist who created the statue. No matter what side you land on, the statue has people talking and ultimately, that's the goal of any solid art installation. If you were to ask the statue how she feels about it all? With hands on hips, she'd probably say, 'I am unbothered.' More must-reads: Trump's anti-DEI push doesn't stop Black Kentucky grads from holding an off-campus celebration Biden says he's 'not surprised' Kamala Harris didn't win, blames sexism 'Not guilty' verdicts for three officers in Tyre Nichols' case are a gut punch to Black America

Mesquite official fired for racial remarks
Mesquite official fired for racial remarks

Yahoo

time23-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Mesquite official fired for racial remarks

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Mesquite City Council has decided to terminate their city manager following racial remarks which were self-confessed to be inappropriate. During a regular city council meeting, Mesquite residents voiced their support for a reprimand for City Manager Edward 'Owen' Dickie. 'We went from the safest city to the racist city,' one resident said to city council. Dickie then made a speech in his defense. 'I am sorry, those words were not right,' Dickie said. 'And I do regret it.' The crowd shouted for Dickie to resign to which Dickie responded, 'I am good with that, I would like to talk to the mayor about that.' Another part of the crowd shouted for him to be fired. Councilwoman Patti Gallo made a motion for the immediate termination of Dickie and in the meantime have the deputy city manager step into the position as a temporary city manager. The council voted in favor of terminating Dickie in a 4-1 vote, Councilwoman Karen Fielding was the sole vote in favor of Dickie—Mayor Jesse Whipple did not appear to vote initially. Once Whipple realized he did not vote, he voted in favor, changing the count to 5-1. Dickie came under fire for racial comments he made during a previous conversation, one he had with Former Mesquite Police Chief Maquade Chesley. Unbeknownst to Dickie, one of the conversations in question was recorded and leaked. 'This is a person I let go in January, so I can see why they are doing this,' Dickie told 8 News Now. Dickie fired Chesley for insubordination following a city investigation regarding alleged threats and misconduct toward the city's police department. During a private conversation with Chesley, Dickie stated that if he was ever let go, he would go down to Louisiana, back to the back parishes and find himself a 6'5' Black woman chief. 'I told them, 'I'd like to go down to Louisiana with the biggest Black Aunt Jemima and just flippin' whip you guys into shape,'' Dickie said. Dickie also stated that they were probably going to 'hate the next chief more than him,' thus making them regret their decision to fire him. 'I made comments that I regret, but it was just between him and I at the time,' Dickie said. 'What I intended to say was, 'Maybe what I need to do is go down south and get a strong Black Woman and whip these guys into shape.'' He continued, 'It was a comment I shouldn't of made, and I talked to council about it and they will hand down a reprimand.' Dickie told 8 News Now that he reported himself to HR once the recordings were sent to the Nevada Current. 'I can't believe I said, 'Aunt Jemima type,'' he said. 'I would never say that in public. 'The gist of what I was trying to say was that maybe the department needs some diversity,' he continued. In regards to the accusations of using racial slurs like the N-word, Dickie denied 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Mesquite city manager under fire for racial comments during conversation with former police chief
Mesquite city manager under fire for racial comments during conversation with former police chief

Yahoo

time09-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Mesquite city manager under fire for racial comments during conversation with former police chief

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Mesquite's City Manager, Edward 'Owen' Dickie is under fire for racial comments he made during a conversation he had with Former Mesquite Police Chief Maquade Chesley. Unbeknownst to Dickie, the conversation was recorded and leaked by Chesley in what Dickie believes to be retaliation for firing him. 'This is a person I let go in January, so I can see why they are doing this,' Dickie told 8 News Now. Dickie fired Chesley for insubordination following a city investigation regarding alleged threats and misconduct toward the city's police department. During a private conversation with Chesley, Dickie who was once a supporter of his, stated that if he was ever let go, he would go down to Louisiana, back to the back parishes and find himself a 6'5' Black woman chief. 'I told them, 'I'd like to go down to Louisiana with the biggest Black Aunt Jemima and just flippin' whip you guys into shape,'' Dickie admitted to saying. Dickie also stated that they were probably going to 'hate the next chief more than him,' thus making them regret their decision to fire him. Soon after making that comment Dickie and Mesquite's Mayor, Jesse Whipple ended up letting Chesley go. Former Mesquite police chief asked to appear in front of council amid alleged threats to cut employees' throats 'I made comments that I regret, but it was just between him and I at the time,' Dickie shared. 'What I intended to say was, 'Maybe what I need to do is go down south and get a strong Black Woman and whip these guys into shape.'' He continued, 'It was a comment I shouldn't of made, and I talked to council about it and they will hand down a reprimand.' Dickie told 8 News Now that he reported himself to HR once the recordings were leaked a couple of weeks ago to the Nevada Current. City report labels former Mesquite police chief 'a cancer' on the department 'I can't believe I said, 'Aunt Jemima type,'' he said. 'I would never say that in public.' 'The gist of what I was trying to say was that maybe the department needs some diversity,' he added. In regards to the accusations of using racial slurs like the N-word, Dickie denies it. It's still unclear what the council plans to do regarding the leaked audio, but Dickie said he has since received a verbal warning and write-up for his actions. There was no word if he would be let go from his current position as city manager. Former Mesquite police chief files lawsuit against city for wrongful termination, breach of contract Dickie said that the last time he spoke with Former Police Chief Chesley was in January right before they let him go. Chesley currently has two open lawsuits against the City of Mesquite. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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