Department of Administrative Services

Press Release

For Immediate Release	For More Information:
July 21, 2009	Robert Bailey, 515-281-7056

 

Construction Underway on New Capitol Complex Sculpture

Shattering Silence marks Iowa’s Civil Rights History

DES MOINES — The newest sculpture planned for the Iowa Capitol Complex is beginning to take shape just west of the Judicial Building on a hill overlooking downtown Des Moines. Shattering Silence is a creation of Des Moines artist James Ellwanger and is a testament to Iowa’s long history of defending individual liberties and rights.

The central story of the sculpture concerns the first ruling handed down by the Supreme Court of the Iowa Territory in 1839. The case, In Re[gards to] the Matter of Ralph, concerned a former slave named Ralph Montgomery. He had negotiated for his freedom from a man in Missouri by promising to pay $550 – money he planned to earn in the lead mines near Dubuque. When, after five years, Ralph had failed to raise enough money, two bounty hunters apprehended him, intent on returning him to Missouri. A local farmer stopped the men by notifying the local magistrate, Thomas Wilson. Wilson also served on the three-judge territorial Supreme Court.

In its ruling, the court stated: “When, in seeking to accomplish his object, [the claimant] illegally restrains a human being of his liberty, it is proper that the laws, which should extend equal protection to men of all colors and conditions, should intervene.”

The court’s decision confirmed Iowa’s position as a free territory, and would be the first of many advances in civil rights that would occur within the state’s borders.

The sculpture, when completed, will feature native Iowa stone and highly reflective steel. Details on a commemoration ceremony, tentatively set for mid-September, will be determined soon.

About the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS)
DAS was created July 1, 2003, as a way to manage and coordinate the major resources of state government; its mission is to provide high quality, affordable infrastructure products and services to Iowa state government customers in a manner that empowers them to provide better service to the citizens of Iowa and support the State of Iowa in achieving economic growth. http://das.iowa.gov/

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