The City of Rochester has chosen the image of a black panther to replace racist artwork which was removed from the Ontario Beach Park’s Dentzel Carousel.

Community artists are being called upon to submit their own sketches of a black panther to be voted on as the replacement panel for the Dentzel Carousel.

“The recent movie Black Panther has been a source of excitement, pride and positive energy. Today it is incredibly exciting to announce with this great panel that a black panther will grace the historic Dentzel Carousel for centuries to come,” said Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren.

The panel was removed in 2016. It is now a part of the “Take It Down! Organizing Against Racism” exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

“How we were viewed, how we were treated, the things that we went through, has to be told so everyone understands why people feel the way that they feel today so that we can learn from each other. It’s always a teachable moment,” added Warren.

The Carousel was built in 1905. Warren says you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. She says we can’t forget that at one time this artwork was considered acceptable.

“What the Picaninny art was used for was to degrade, downplay and to act like African American children were animals and they are clearly not. When you look at that I want people to be able to understand and see at that moment in time what were people thinking? Why was it okay,” added Warren.

May 13 is the last date for submissions. Once finalists are selected, the community will get a chance to vote at an open meeting on May 19.

Both hard copy and digital proposals will be accepted.

For more information, visit: Rochester Museum and Science Center’s website.