WHAT DOES THE FLAG MEAN TO YOU? GLORY! GLORY! PANEL SPARKS VITAL CONVERSATION AT ZHOU B ART CENTER

Rush Baker IV, Monica Haslip, and Vicki Heyman were in conversation with Rufus Willaims at Zhou B Art Center as Glory! Glory! continues.

On Friday, March 13, Zhou B Art Center became a sanctuary for honest, searching dialogue when Glory! Glory! — the exhibition celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary through the lens of Black artists — hosted a panel discussion as powerful as the work on its walls.

WVON radio host Rufus Williams set the tone immediately, inviting the audience to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The room responded in ways that said everything: some placed hands over hearts, others stood in quiet hesitation, and still others raised their fists in the Black power salute. Before a single panelist had spoken, the conversation had already begun.

Williams framed the evening with precision: "Artists have often been among the people who challenged the country to live up to its ideals." That charge animated the entire discussion.

Monica Haslip, founder of Little Black Pearl, articulated the emotional complexity many in the room were feeling. "I feel pride because my ancestors have contributed to this place," she said, "but I also feel a lot of turmoil — the symbol itself doesn't actually tell the narrative of all the people who contributed to this country."

Rush Baker IV, Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), pointed to the aspirational quality of American ideals as his anchor. "The framers were talking about things that were not yet true — but they were aspirational," he observed. "That's the thing I hang my hat on."

Cultural representative, author, and art patron Vicki Heyman drew a sharp distinction between symbol and commodity. "People are trying to use it as a brand," she said plainly — and the flag, she insisted, is not one. It is something larger, something that deserves to be reclaimed. "I hope that with time the flag can return, at least for many people, to a feeling of joy and aspiration."



Together, the four voices — moderated with skill and warmth by Williams — delivered exactly what art should provoke: not easy answers, but necessary questions.

Glory! Glory! remains on view at Zhou B Art Center through March 20th.