Art Gallery About Wheaton College's Abolitionism

Bev Horne

Your past may be stained, but your future is untouched.

It's a theme that emanates throughout a newly launched art exhibit at Wheaton College called "Second Line: The Art of Social Justice."

The exhibit features linoleum cut prints by artist Steve Prince, a New Orleans native who drew inspiration from the "dirge" and "second line" heard at jazz funerals in his city.

"The dirge is the slow, mournful tune that's played for someone that's passed away," he said. "The musicians will purposefully make music that is very slow, to draw the audience to feel a sense of sorrow, to feel a sense of hurt, to feel a sense of pain."

The Wheaton College community has publicly gone through many of those emotions in recent months in response to former political science professor Larycia Hawkins being placed on leave after saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Hawkins and the evangelical school came to a confidential agreement in February under which they parted ways.

Now, a new leaf is being turned on campus, one that aligns well with Prince's work and his interpretation of the "second line."

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