Anonymous, "Muskegon Together Rising", contributed by Kaitlyn Rabach, Center for Ethnography, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 27 February 2020, accessed 2 May 2024. http://www.centerforethnography.org/content/muskegon-together-rising
Critical Commentary
IMAGE THAT CONVEYS YOUR EMERGING ARGUMENT
In 2008, a new public scuplutre--Muskegon Together Rising--was unveiled in downtown Muskegon.
The following poem inspired the sculpture by a Chicago artists:
Arise, thou Muskegon,
Thou queen of the harbors,
Arise in thy glory
And claim thy estate;
No longer thy saw mills
Sing loud in thy arbors,
Yet echoes an anthem
More sure and more great.
The sculpture, a 45ft stainless steel structure, rises in a triangular tower widening on the way up until it finally reaches the rop where it breaks into an entanglement of wings, waves and arms. Somewhat resembling a torch, the sculpture is said to "light the way" for the future of Muskegon.
In this particular artifact, I've chosen to place the construction of the unity sculpture over 2010 US Census data which revealed the Muskegon - Norton Shores divide as one of the most racially segregated areas in the country. In recent years, the "comeback" of Muskegon's downtown has been recorded by a variety of different news outlets and has been recognized throughout the state, but who's the comback benefiting?