Justice is Blind

Justice in Blind is a planned mural to be erected in April 2018 in the lobby of the Jefferson County Courthouse alongside the original "Old South and New South" murals painted in 1931 by John W. Norton.

The project was initiated in the wake of complaints about how the 1931 murals depicted African Americans as slaves in the "Old South" and as unskilled labor in the "New South". Suggestions to keep, remove, cover, alter or supplement the historic murals were considered by a 16-member committee. The consensus reached was to preserve the existing artwork and to commission Tuskegee-based artist Ronald Scott McDowell to complete a new mural representing progress made since the 1930s.

McDowell's approved design includes black and white figures of "Lady Justice" above a diverse array of robed judges. The mural also depicts law books, two bald eagles, American and Alabama flags, the Jefferson County seal, and the courthouse building.

The size of the mural, 6 1/2 feet wide by 17 feet tall, approximates the size of the 1931 murals. McDowell's commission to create and install the painting was $185,000.

References

• Owens, Cody (November 17, 2015) "Committee to decide fate of courthouse murals." Weld for Birmingham
• Edgemon, Erin (August 29, 2017) "Jefferson County to leave slave images in courthouse, new murals planned." The Birmingham News
• Wright, Erica (February 1, 2018) "After complaints about slave mural, Jefferson County to unveil new paintings in April." The Birmingham Times