The Washington Nationwide Cathedral will unveil its new racial-justice-themed stained-glass home windows, created by famous artist Kerry James Marshall, on Sept. 23.
The newly designed home windows change home windows that honored Accomplice Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, which contained two depictions of the insurgent battle flag, which have been eliminated in 2017.
Cathedral officers mentioned the home windows — themed “Now and Ceaselessly” — signify a brand new chapter in its legacy of artwork and structure, symbolizing its dedication to serving as a sacred gathering house the place all Individuals can witness themselves mirrored within the constructing’s increasing artwork and iconography.
The Cathedral’s fee represents Marshall’s first time working with stained glass as a medium, and the home windows might be one in all solely three everlasting public exhibitions of the artist’s artwork within the U.S.
“Artwork isn’t solely about aesthetics; it additionally could be a software for reinterpreting acquainted narratives and confronting uncomfortable truths,” Marshall mentioned. “It could additionally encourage progress, and these home windows are a visible invitation to mirror on the that means of America as we speak.”
Poetess Elizabeth Alexander will learn a poem marking the event. The poem’s wording might be hand-carved into limestone tablets over the subsequent 9 months.
“The addition of those home windows and the highly effective phrases that accompany them permits us to inform a more true story of America, a narrative that confronts our previous and invitations all of us right into a extra inclusive and hopeful future,” mentioned the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the Cathedral.