Obama Administration To Give Lady Liberty A Diversity Facelift Beauty Treatment
By HARRIET REED
Published November 10, 2012
In 1996 General Mills did a diversity makeover to America’s favorite baking queen Betty Crocker. To replace the old lily-white Betty, they took a cup of the old Caucasian, a pinch of African-American features, a smattering a Latino features and a sprinkle of Asian traits. The result: a “diverse” Betty Crocker with whom all Americans could identify.
Fast-forward to 2012. The nation is even more diverse. Latinos are increasingly flexing their political muscles, and President Obama won a second term by leveraging our new national diversity. So it should have come as little surprise on Friday when Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that diversity will be bestowed upon our most important national symbol: the Statute of Liberty.
“Since Lady Liberty blessed us with her presence in 1886, we have experienced vast change,” said Salazar. “Gone are the days when the average American was Anglo, and people of color were rare or in chains.” According to Salazar, the time has come for “Lady Liberty to reflect the visage of our diverse society.”
“I think I’ll start with that big, white honker she has.”
The Obama Administration already has signed high-profile Asian-American artist Maya Lin to lead the $125 million project which may begin as early as 2015. While the Statue is loftier than a box of a Betty Crocker cake flour, the goal will be the same as General Mills: make Lady Liberty look diverse. Experts told The LBT that Lin will likely replace the entire face of the Statue rather than chisel features onto it.
Sec. Salazar distributed photographs to reporters of some of the changes they might see after the project is complete. Lady Liberty appears to have Asian ancestry in the re-design.
In an email Ms. Lin stated that she is “thrilled to update this national treasure.” When asked about what features would be changed, she wrote, “I think I’ll start with that big, white honker she has.” Lin said that she wants to be able “to look at the Statue and see every woman of color in the United States.”
“If [the Statute of Liberty] is going to reflect women of color, African-Americans were here long before the Asiatics.”
The National Diversity Coalition spokeswoman Tulia Isiduko-Roberts said that the facelift is a good step towards diversity in our national monuments but the transformation will be incomplete. “The statue should look diverse but she will still have a Roman toga,” said Isuduko-Roberts. “She should be wearing other clothes and accessories reflecting our many cultures.”
Santa Marino African-American Studies Professor Bridget Willoughby-Herrard was not entirely supportive of the proposed facelift. “If [the Statute of Liberty] is going to reflect women of color, African-Americans were here long before the Asiatics,” she said. “This [woman] could be serving up potstickers on 24th [Street].”