Atlanta BeltLine apologizes for controversial photos in art installation

ATLANTA — Some people in southwest Atlanta are upset about an art exhibit placed on the Atlanta BeltLine in their community. They're calling it racist.

The photos were displayed on the Westside Beltline Trail off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard before someone took them down.

The photographer was working on a project with a program called Canine CellMates that uses dogs to help prisoners. The director tells Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes the photos weren't intended to offend or disrespect anyone but without any context, the photos could be misunderstood.

An Atlanta resident who walks the part of the BeltLine where the photos were located told Fernandes he wondered why all the prisoners depicted in the images were black.

TRENDING STORIES:

• This is the most hated food in Georgia
• School apologizes after teachers says students can't wear 'Make America Great Again' shirts
• PHOTOS: DragonCon Parade 2017

"I think what we have in our society is a system that criminalizes being African American and to go into a neighborhood that I think is 90% black and just put up these pics of black men as prisoners is a bit toxic," one resident told us.

His sentiments were shared by many others who found the selection troubling. Someone removed the photos and replaced them with another set of images containing messages meant to uplift the black community.

Officials with the Atlanta BeltLine responded with the following statement:

"We have seen the photos that were installed on the Westside Trail and we are gravely concerned that those images were a part of this year's Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibit displayed in the community. Art on the Atlanta BeltLine was created to make art accessible to everyone by bringing the exhibit to public spaces and in doing so, be respectful of the community. The photos that were displayed did not reflect our commitment to do that. The community is understandably and justifiably upset and for that we humbly apologize. We make no excuses and are in the process of investigating the process of how this occurred in order to take the most appropriate action to ensure this does not happen again. This includes seeking new ways to involve communities in the art selection process so that it is inclusive and respectful of their rich and vibrant history".

The director of Canine CellMates says their program was created to help felons while they're in prison and when they're released so they will hopefully return to society as better fathers, and more productive citizens. She said the photos were just images of the work the program does.

The director also told Fernandes that when these photos were originally displayed in a different art exhibit, that exhibit gave context to what the photos were about.

In this situation, no context was given.

Cox Media Group