Vergara, Camilo J. This statue of Jesus was once all white. Then, during the riots of 1967, someone painted the face, hands and feet pitch black. First regarding the alteration as an act of vandalism, another person restored the whiteness. But soon, as a friendly gesture to the neighborhood, the seminary authorities repainted the skin pitch black. Sacred Heart Seminary, 2701 Chicago Ave., Detroit. Vergara Photograph Collection. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021639273/
Understanding the story of the Detroit Uprising is integral to understanding the City of Detroit today. The statue of “Black Jesus” is a visual representation of both the racial tensions historically (and presently) within the city and within the United States, as well as a representation of the power of solidarity and unity pushing back against institutional racism.
- The statue of Jesus is located at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. Erected in 1957, the statue of Jesus was originally white. On the first day of the 1967 Detroit Uprising—an insurrection following a police raid on an unlicensed bar that lasted five days and resulted in forty-three deaths, hundreds of injuries, almost 1,700 fires, and over 7,000 arrests—several African American men painted the face, hands, and feet of the statue black.
- Several months later, the statue was secretly repainted white, a symbol of the ongoing race tensions in Detroit and across the nation. However, Seminary leaders repainted the statue black again three days later, showing solidarity with the surrounding Black community. The statue remains black to this day and Seminary officials carefully maintain “Black Jesus” as an iconic 1967 landmark, a “positive symbol of a very difficult time,” and “an icon of multiracial harmony,” according to Dan Gallio, spokesman for Sacred Heart, as quoted in the Detroit News, 2017.
Camilo J. Vergara (b. 1944) is a Chilean American photographer who documents both continuity and change in American urban spaces. This photograph specifically documents a relic of the Detroit Riot / 12th Street Riot / Detroit Uprising / Detroit Rebellion.
- What is the context for statues and relics?
- What significant historical events or figures are connected to the statues and relics we display publicly?
- How do statues and relics reflect the values and beliefs of the time period in which they were erected?
- How do statues and relics reflect our current values and beliefs?
- What inferences can we make about the painting and repainting of this specific statue?
- How does this specific statue connect to photographer Camilo J. Vergara’s focus on continuity and change in American urban spaces?
Visual Arts, Music, Dance, and Theatre Standards and Michigan K–12 Standards-ELA
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Art |
ELA |
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Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding
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RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
RH.11-12.6 Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning, and evidence.
RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
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- In a high school English course, students can discuss the language we use to frame historical events, comparing the four different ways the 1967 Uprising has been categorized: Detroit Riot / 12th Street Riot / Detroit Uprising / Detroit Rebellion. What are the implications of the different ways we name the 1967 event in Detroit? As a related discussion component, students can view photographs of the “Black Jesus” statue and talk about the implications of painting the statue white, then black, then white, and then black again. Finally, what are the implications for the city of Detroit that the statue remains black? What message is the seminary sending the community? Why is this message important?
- In a high school social studies course, students studying the racial tensions across the nation both historically and presently can use this statue and its history as a discussion point, representing both the history of Detroit, but also the messaging present in the iconography that we currently display nationwide.
- In an art course, students can investigate the intention and meaning behind the original statue, as well as the intentions, meanings, and implications of the repainting of the statue and the current preservation of the statue as “Black Jesus.” Students can also reflect on the power of photography as it captures both continuity and change.
For many people, the concept of a Black Jesus can be particularly troublesome. Parents might object to discussion of religion in the classroom as well as the discussion of race. In discussing the 1967 Detroit Uprising, the history of systematic racism within the city and within our nation must be reckoned with, and many people find discussing race to be problematic.
- Mural, "African Amalgamation of Ubiquity," by Curtis Lewis, 1985, featuring Malcolm X and MLK Jr., on the side wall of Operation Get Down, a drug rehabilitation center, 9980 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, 2008 | Library of Congress.
- Photograph shows a large portion of the mural, which has portraits of many African American leaders, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. Du Bois, Jesse Jackson, and others. Photograph by Camilo J. Vergara.
- Tyree Guyton polka dot, Detroit's simplest and most ubiquitous art image is the dot that is painted on thousands of abandoned buildings. Guyton has become Detroit's official certifier of ruins. Chene St. north of Garfield St., Detroit, 2012.
- Depending on the teacher’s aim for the lesson this could be used as a different entry point into the history of race relations in Detroit, MI.
- 1967 Detroit Riot | A Life of Global Impact | Explore | Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words.
- Part of the Rosa Parks “A Life of Global Impact” collection, this photograph documents the renaming of 12th Street to Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. On July 23, 1967, Twelfth Street became the epicenter of the five-day Detroit riot. In the aftermath, 5,000 people were left homeless, 7,000 were jailed, 43 people were killed, and property damage was estimated at 45 million dollars. Raymond Parks’s barbershop was one of the looted businesses; both he and Rosa were devastated. Detroit residents signed a petition to rename the besieged street in honor of Rosa Parks. On July 14, 1976, Twelfth Street was formally renamed Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Mayor Coleman Young.
- Detroit News Article: Black Jesus statue one of most iconic ’67 landmarks
- The official website of Camilo José Vergara: Tracking Time
- Smithsonian American Art Museum collection: Camilo José Vergara | Smithsonian American Art Museum
- National Museum of African American History and Culture collection: Camilo José Vergara | National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Archdiocese of Detroit video on the history of the statue: Detroit 1967 - Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue
- Detroit Historical Society collection: Uprising of 1967 | Detroit Historical Society