MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting a mural depicting a barefoot black woman working in a field is the source of tension between Red Hook town officials and the Northern Duchess NAACP and community members. The painting has been on the side of a privately owned building in Red Hook village for 24 years. “It is clear to me that the barefoot woman it depicts is a slave who most likely was owned by Dutch settlers of Red Hook,” wrote Eloise Maxey, Northern Dutchess NAACP president in letters to Red Hook Village Mayor Ed Blundell and Town Supervisor Robert McKeon. “I am asking you to remove the mural in honor of Juneteenth and set free the people of color and others who are constantly reminded of a painful time. Please replace it with something inclusive because there are many nationalities in Red Hook," Maxey wrote. Blundell said the two artists who painted the mural in 1996 denied their intention was ever to portray black people in a negative light. The mayor said a committee including Bard College has been formed to discuss the issue. A Facebook petition is calling for the racist mural to be repainted. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.