Unity Sculpture Off, For Now (York Daily Record)

The Healing York initiative was established in 2005 as a way for the York community to heal after the 1969 race riots. Henry Schaad, a white police officer, and Lillie Belle Allen, a black woman, were killed during the riots.

A group was created to work on establishing a commemorative site, creating educational programs and developing a strategy to continue the healing process.

But a proposed unity sculpture in the city square is one element that doesn't appear to be moving forward.

York Mayor John Brenner recently said the idea was pulled long ago after community members disagreed about the design, which featured two children with a book.

"Because there was no consensus, we did not feel we had adequate support to proceed with the fundraising stage to put a unity sculpture on the square," he said.

Adrienne McNeil, executive director of York County Community Against Racism, said she thinks it "remains to be seen" what happens to the idea.

The organization held several meetings last year with the community and the Healing York members about the sculpture, she said. They recommended to the mayor that the project not move forward at the time, she said.

Brenner said he then told YCCAR they could take the lead on the issue.

McNeil said "there is a serious desire within YCCAR to really try and see if we can work to some sort of resolution on that particular issue." But there's a lot on YCCAR's plate right now, she said.

Lorann Jacobs, the artist who created sculpture models, recently said, "I haven't heard anything from anyone." She declined to comment further.

The city recently submitted applications to the state for two historical markers for the areas on West College Avenue and North Newberry Street where Schaad and Allen were killed. Brenner said he expects to hear back in the spring.

Benches bearing Schaad's and Allen's names were placed in Farquhar Park during the summer.

The idea of creating a memorial for Schaad and Allen was introduced at the time the city settled a civil lawsuit with Allen's family, but assistant city solicitor Don Hoyt said the memorial was not a condition of the settlement.

Brenner said the city still reserves the right to create a unity sculpture, garden or site somewhere on city property.

"If we can come up with exactly what the City of York would like to do to remember Officer Schaad and Lillie Belle Allen . . . we certainly will be happy to report that," he said. "We're not there."

He said the community shouldn't focus on one statue and lose sight of the larger goal of Healing York. It was to create community dialogue and invite people to share their stories, he said.

"We did that," he said.

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OTHER ELEMENTS

Some elements of the Healing York initiative are growing.

Healing York Playback, a theater project through which actors bring life to the experiences of audience members, is branching out, said Chris Fitz[ama: Chris Fitz cq: ], who directs the project.

Fitz said he's building a troupe for the second phase, which will look at issues in addition to racism.

The group is considering a name change to reflect the larger scope, he said. Feedback from the previous sessions indicated some people were afraid the theater would make them feel guilty or bad, he said.

"People don't generally feel bad about it. We got really great feedback about our last performance," he said. "But it's a matter of getting them there."

The next performances will be in the summer.

Stephanie Seaton, executive director of the York City Human Relations Commission, could not be reached for comment about Healing York's other activities.

Community Arts