MILWAUKEE -- The recent September issue of Milwaukee magazine has started a firestorm on social media.
Critics question the magazine art director's location choice to promote Milwaukee's upcoming fashion week.
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Clarene Mitchell was surprised the editorial staff allowed the image used in the fashion layout to make it to print.
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"How did they think it was okay. ....how did that not stop at her desk and got on the newsstands as it is now? ", said Mitchell.
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The image in question shows a white female model standing in front of a larger than life mural featuring a black man in a orange jail jumpsuit. The layout's purpose was to highlight one of the fashion designers featured in Milwaukee fashion week.
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"My issue is not with the mural itself its how Milwaukee magazine high jacked this disparity and used it for a frivolous promotion of a fashion show. " said Mitchell
Mitchell is not the only one who questions the image. Last week the image was shared and posted on Facebook a number of times with comments centering around cultural sensitivity , outrage and disappointment.
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Chad Wilson found the layout to be insensitive.
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"You use an experience of my life for a backdrop to a fashion shoot! "
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Wilson once incarcerated had now turned a new leaf and become a productive member of society. He was one of a number of men featured in the documentary 53206 - a movie that takes a deep look at mass incarceration from one of the city's zip codes that has the highest rates of black men behind bars in the nation.
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TODAY'S TMJ4 contacted the magazine for a response. In a statement Editor-in-chief, Carol Nicksin wrote:
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"We welcome honest feedback and, better yet, dialogue with our readers. We are deeply sorry that we offended anyone and extend a heartfelt apology. In no way did we mean to trivialize the message of Adam Stoner’s poignant mural "Devontay" about the legacy of black male incarceration in Milwaukee. We take very seriously our mission to build up the Milwaukee community. We very much appreciate that a reader raised her voice and started a conversation about this important issue. As members of the media, we value our opportunity and responsibility to advance understanding and illuminate issues impacting our community."
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Adam Stoner the artist of the mural spent a year in Detroit working with incarcerated youth. It was that experience that inspired him to paint several pictures highlighting the plight of mass incarceration.
"It was an experience that rocked my world as a southern white boy from the suburbs." Said Stoner. "I never experienced something like that close up and see the havoc that it wreaks in the lives of young children, adults, families and communities. "
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Once Stoner was made aware of how his art was being used he wrote a letter to the magazine's editor.
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"When you paint something and you have a clear intent for it and it gets missed used its a bad feeling. "
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Milwaukee Fashion week also issued an apology on Facebook. Fashion week runs September 21-23.
