Unsung Hero

 

Walter Sommers
award-winning art by our fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Anya

"The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outside of a person. But the LORD looks at what is in the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

Our granddaughter just won second place in a national "Unsung Hero" art competition. Her report accompanying the art reveals the beauty behind the work:

Walter Sommers was a Jewish witness of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) on November 9-10, 1938. Almost instantly after that, Walter’s family migrated to the United States in hope of a safer life. While it was a safer life, there was still plenty of racism in the United States and the Sommers family experienced unfairness because they were Jewish. Walter joined the American Army to fight in World War II, and retired shortly after the war was over. Eventually, he moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he found segregation of white and black people everywhere. 

 

Walter, along with many others, helped encourage desegregation throughout Indiana. One day, Walter and some of his friends went to have lunch together. One friend happened to be African American. The young man warned Walter that the people in the restaurant wouldn’t serve him because of his race. Walter responded to him saying, “If they won’t serve you, then they won’t serve us, and we’ll never go back.” In the restaurant, their waitress told them, “the way you are seated I cannot serve you.” And Walter told her that if she couldn’t serve them the way they were seated, then they would have lunch some place else. The lady got her manager and told him the situation and he told her to go ahead and serve them. Very soon, as a result of Walter’s stance, many of the restaurants in Terre Haute were desegregated. Encouraged by his impact on Terre Haute Walter attempted to make an impact at other restaurants around the state of Indiana. He and his African American friend repeated the same thing they had done in Terre Haute, making the same impact on segregation. Walter could have been beaten for what he did, yet he did it anyway. Not only did he display kindness through peaceful protests, he also displayed bravery and determination. 

 

The most inspiring part about Walter’s story to me is how he stood up to racism in a peaceful way. He was not fighting against racist people, but against racism itself. He stood up to bullies by standing with the victim. In my art, the darkness framing the picture represents prejudice and how it is not a person, but a monster that tries to turn people against each other. The darkness circles around the broken glass and the Star of David represents how racism was the cause of Kristallnacht and how Walter had experienced an extreme amount of racism. Walter Sommers is in the center of the picture holding a broken “colored” sign. The broken sign symbolizes how Walter broke the tension between white and black people by inviting a black person into a white restaurant. Lastly, Walter is standing with protesting people. He’s not holding a gun or a sword; he’s simply standing with people, presenting them as his equal, peacefully fighting for his beliefs.

 

One of my takeaways from this project is that the most effective way to fight prejudice, whether its racism, sexism, ageism, religious prejudice, or something else, is to stand up for the victim by standing with them and presenting them as your equal. I want my art to remind people of two things. First, I want people to know that racism is not a person. It’s not a fight between people and people, it’s a fight between people and prejudice. Secondly, I want people to know that the best way to fight prejudice without hurting someone is to stand with the victim. It will have an enormous impact on everyone.

 

My art will be displayed in the CANDLES museum where Walter speaks once a week. It will also be put on the B-TV website, as well as my teacher’s Milken Fellow page. A copy will be put up at Batchelor Middle School and in the B-TV classroom to inspire students. It will be posted on B-TV’s social media and a copy will be sent to Holicost survivor Eva Kor’s son, Alex Kor. Lastly, my art will be shared with filmmaker Ted Green.

 

Walter says, “Love your neighbor as yourself, number one, and treat everyone the way you want to be treated. That was the way I was brought up.” Walter impacted Indiana in simple ways, that led to a huge difference. I think that Walter’s story is incredibly inspiring and worthy of recognition.

Amen, Anya! I'm so very proud of your talent and your heart!