‘I, too, am America’

Standing frozen in a gesture of respect, pride and patriotism, the subject of a recently unveiled bronze statue at Lincoln School, “I too, am America,” expresses the determination of pre-segregation-era Black Americans to participate in and contribute to the ideals of democracy. The pedestal was painted with an American flag and portraits of civil rights leaders and notable Black Americans by muralist Dr. Bolaji Ogunwo, whose work can be seen in other public spaces throughout West Plains. It is one of two statues on the Lincoln School Reflection Plaza, dedicated in a ceremony held May 17.