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One Arkansan artist has been using art to bring light to dark times\u2014 his latest work talks about and shares the history of the disenfranchisement of voters.<\/p>\n
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. \u2014 It’s no secret that for decades, minority groups who have gone to cast a ballot have faced intense voter intimidation\u2014 with the use of tactics like Gerrymandering and poll taxes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
History has shown that the federal government would eventually step in.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Native Arkansan, Kevin Cole is an artist that has been using art to bring light to dark times.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Tucked away in the historic Dunbar Area of Little Rock and just a few miles from the Little Rock Nine monument is a place called Hearne Fine Art.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“We focus on black culture through literature in the fine arts,” Garbo Hearne, Director of Hearne Fine Art said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
For more than three decades, Hearne has featured Arkansas and international artists to help people understand black culture.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
On display inside the gallery is “Where Do We Go From Here? ll: Exploring Gerrymandering and Voting.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The artist behind that exhibit is Kevin Cole.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“This exhibit talks about and shares the history of the disenfranchisement of voters, black voters particularly,” Hearne explained.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
In the exhibit, Cole used pieces like poll tax receipts from 1893 and 1963 to support the challenges voters faced.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“Once you pay the poll tax, you may be asked some arbitrary questions like how many bubbles are in a bar of soap or how many marbles are in a can,” Hearne described.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The other lesson this exhibit explores is gerrymandering, which Hearne explained is a tactic used to change a voting district to create results that help one political party and hurt the other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Cole’s work includes seven southern states that participated in gerrymandering.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“How can I show the process of mapping by using dirt in those areas where the black vote were suppressed,” Cole described.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
He also shared how he believes gerrymandering still happens today.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Just last year, a group of Black Arkansans filed a lawsuit alleging that newly drawn congressional districts diluted the influence of black voters.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
A panel of judges tossed part of that lawsuit in October.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Cole also cited voting laws in Georgia that ban groups from giving food and water to voters waiting in line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Aside from that, his work also includes designs of a necktie.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
He explained that it’s a piece that was sometimes used to scare voters.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“My grandfather took me to a tree where African Americans were lynched with a necktie in Terry, Arkansas,” Cole said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
He hopes that his artwork will send a message that fear can’t be a reason to not cast a ballot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“They died so that we would have the right to vote and a right to make decisions about our lives and our families,” Cole said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Cole’s exhibit started in Georgia and he has received a $50,000 grant to work on the pieces of art. The collection will be on display until April 1.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
If you’re in need of assistance, Hearne Fine Art also helps people register to vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n