Among those speaking so far at the public meeting on the Depression-era lynching murals in the former Ada County Courthouse:

Dean Mark Adams of the University of Idaho College of Law said his concern is whether the daily display of the murals, as law students, faculty and the public use the building, is “conducive to … providing a welcoming environment.” He said, “I believe … that the answer is no. An open display of the two murals would be deeply troubling to the faculty and students at the law school,” particularly to Native American and African American students and staff, he said, who would receive a “message that you’re not welcome here. … Faculty and staff would be subject to an unwelcome working environment.”

Adams said the scenes, which depict white settlers preparing to hang a Native American man, conflict with “our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive learning environment.” He proposed that they remain covered, but be uncovered during special events that could provide context and dialogue, such as an April lecture by a distinguished visiting professor that will cover the history of the murals.

Linda Copple Trout, former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice and current interim administrator of the Supreme Court, said the court voted unanimously to support covering the murals. “It’s the court’s view that the offensive murals are not deserving of public display,” she said. “However, the court would leave it up to the Department of Administration to determine the means of carrying that out. The court’s reasoning is that the murals in question are not accurately portraying actions which took place in Idaho, and thus their value ... for historical purposes is questionable.” She added, “To display murals which demonstrate the very antithesis of the rule of law is inappropriate in a government-owned building.”

Michael  Faison, director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, said, “The Idaho Commission on the Arts supports unfettered access by the public to the old Ada County Courthouse’s murals. ... The mural collection should be displayed as intended with the contextualized signage completed.” He noted great works of art that document difficult and troubling scenes, such as Goya’s 1808 painting of the execution of Spanish rebels by a firing squad, or Picasso’s Gernika. “The history of art is the history of humanity in all of its complexity,” he said.

Idaho historian and author Cort Conley said “visual censorship” should not be part of the lease of the building to its occupants. “No resident should have to go into that building and lift up a vinyl curtain in order to share the content of the paintings with a visitor,” he said. “We know between 1885 and 1965 that there were 20 documented lynchings in Idaho. … Additionally, we know that Idaho was the location of the largest massacre of Native Americans in United States history, at Bear River, where somewhere between 350 and 500 Native American children, women and adults were killed.” He noted that a mural about that event remains on display in the nearby Preston Post office, and has for more than 80 years.

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