In 1935, artist Joe Jones painted a 44-foot mural entitled “The Struggle of the South.” Among the images depicted in the mural are sharecroppers, miners, and a lynching.
The mural adorned the wall of the student commons at Commonwealth College in Polk County, Arkansas. The college closed in 1940 and the mural was removed from the campus. In 1984, the work, which had been cut into 29 pieces was found in a closet in a home in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The mural was acquired by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which has now received a $180,000 grant for the preservation and restoration of the historical mural. Once restoration is complete, the mural will be permanently displayed on the UALR campus.
