VICTOR’S NEXT PROJECT

Taft native Ben Victor learned recently that he had been selected to sculpt a bronze of civil rights icon Daisy Bates, who led the Arkansas 9 in desegregating Little Rock Central High School in 1957.

Each U.S. state has two statues on display in National Statuary Hall, inside the U.S. Capitol. In a reflection of the nation’s reckoning on race, Arkansas has announced the tribute to Bates will replace a statue of Uriah Rose, a white supremacist.

“I only knew about her peripherally, but in reading about her, I pieced together her undaunted spirit in those days of adversity. It’s been inspiring and eye-opening and life-changing. For the state to come forward and say this is the right person to celebrate today is a massive step forward, and I’m proud to be part of that.”

Daisy Bates will join three other statues sculpted by Victor: Chief Standing Bear for Nebraska, Sarah Winnemucca for Nevada and Norman Borlaug for Iowa.

His work celebrating heroes of our nation has taken Victor on deep dives into American history, and he applauds the recent reevaluation of who should be memorialized in the public square.

“A lot of these people who were once heroes need to be taken down so they don’t have the power to offend. Maybe some statues are great art and can be moved to a museum, where they become more educational. It’s probably a slippery slope to have mobs destroy stuff, but it’s not appropriate to have these figures in public spaces. Take them case by case, sculpture by sculpture.”

Though the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation in June calling for the removal of all statues of Confederate leaders, many still remain.

One of those statues will be a neighbor to Daisy Bates when Victor completes that statue about a year from now.

“Jefferson Davis is in a huge overcoat, scowling. Next to him, taller than him, will be Daisy Bates, smiling.”