Whose Art is It?

          I really enjoyed this book, although the entire controversy seemed  to focus solely on the fact that a white person was making art of black people.  His work was deemed as racist and confrontational by those outside of the community he was living in.  They viewed Raymond as a drug dealer, Corey as fat and unemployed, and Daleesha as a zombie instead of the real people that they were.  It seemed to me that they thought he was making bronzes of idealized figures instead of real people.  I love that despite the controversy, John is still making art in the South Bronx to this day.  His community respects him and vice versa.  No one in the community has stolen his artwork, nor have they defaced it.  They may have stolen money and batteries, but never his art.
         If the people who were so against the bronzes knew how much his community respected him, I believe the outcome would have been far better.  I feel like if they had taken the time to get to know John, instead of assuming that he is racist, the bronzes would still be there.  Some of the things pointed out by Mrs. Salgado are valid, but John is portraying the reality that is his community.  The problem does not lie with the drug dealers, the unemployed, or the "zombies," it is, in fact, the social construct that we have built that gives birth to these issues.  This is one the problems with a world that runs on money, not every person is going to have a decent amount of it.  Those who do, are able to acquire the best quality items to insure a healthy life, (of course, excluding the fact that many celebrities have drug problems as well...).  In order to get a good education, it takes a decent amount of money.  This is why Mrs. Salgado's point is somewhat valid.  As I see it, she has worked hard to insure a stable life for her children.  To have a daily reminder of the deplorable life that she has rescued her children from is of course not a good thing to be reminded of.  One must not take steps toward the future with eyes fixated on the past.
          Now, back to the issue of race.  Why is it bad that a white person is depicting black people?  It is seen as bad since there is an assumption that is made by, in my experience, many black people that all white people are racist and only want to oppress them.  This is of course, flawed, as the assumption itself is racist towards white people.  The experiences I have had are from working customer service.  For example, a black customer comes up and are either intentionally or unintentionally trying to do something that is against our policies.  I say no to whatever it is, and they immediately ask for the manager, who then tells them the same thing I just said and they are cordial and apologetic and smile and leave.  This is why I side more with John and the fact that there shouldn't have been a controversy to begin with.