HURRY! Darnel Haney in Statewide Art Exhibit

Darnel Haney's work

I was wandering in Salt Lake City today and ran into an old and dear friend, Darnel Haney.

Not in person. I ran into his art, which is cooler, in a way. Darnel puts his soul into his art, so I ran into much more than his body, I ran into his beliefs and feelings.

Darnel's amazing art work is on display -- gad, only another two days? Sadly, yes -- at the Rio Grande Railroad Station in Salt Lake City, now home of the Utah Historical Society and various arts groups. The display is of art that has "a dialogue with historical and contemporary civil and human rights issue," because those were the centerpiece of Dr. Martin Luther King's work.

Darnel, who is black, has a long life history of fighting racial prejudice, not the least of which when he fell in love with, and married, a white woman in Logan, Utah, back in the 60s. They had to go to movie dates separately, couldn't even sit next to each other, if you can imagine, and she was shunned.

They're still married, of course.

Darnel's long career led him to Washington Terrace where he and Marie moved in and watched the neighbors take one look and move out. That's OK, a finer class of folks moved in again.

Darnel took up painting, with African and slave themes, which obviously fits in with this show. There are seven pieces by him showing.

A DREAM kid

There is other works from others who have struggled -- Hispanics and other immigrant populations.

I found most touching the one about DREAM kids, the children of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US by their parents, built lives and then faced deportation. Recent changes have allowed those kids to get legal residency, which is letting them lead normal lives, more or less.

Three years ago pictures of the kids were taken, not showing their faces clearly so they wouldn't get into trouble. This year new pictures were taken, showing them now bright and smiling, the typical American kids that they are, ready to build themselves new futures.

That's nice. Darnel looks at the past, the pictures of the kids look at the future.

The show is in the main lobby through the 14th. I'd have written about it sooner if I'd known about it sooner, but I miss a lot. Get down and see it if you can, the Rio Grand Station is an easy one block walk east of the FrontRunner Salt Lake Central stop.