ABC News February 25, 2024

Artist paying tribute to 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' author with sculpture

WATCH: The history of Black History Month
By Okelo Pena

A project is in the works to pay tribute to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," with the first life-sized sculpture in her honor.

Brenda Councill, who grew up in Mandarin, Florida, a small neighborhood in the southern part of Jacksonville, said she wanted to pay tribute to Stowe, working with the Mandarin Historical Society to create a piece to pay homage to her legacy in Northeast Florida.

Stowe, an abolitionist and writer who spent 17 winters in Mandarin, is remembered for making essential contributions to the area during her time in North Florida, according to the Mandarin Historical Society.

Olis Garber
Councill shares her process of creating the sculpture with open visitors viewing her studio open to the public on the weekends. A photographer and videographer have been documenting the progress of the sculpture and with the release of the final product will also show a film to show the progess upon completion.

"I felt like the public really needed to visit a site that she would have walked on and feel the impact within this community on the grounds of the Mandarin museum," Councill told ABC News.

"She was always a strong figure for me as a child, a magnificent woman, and I just felt like I wanted to create this sculpture where people could get closer to her."

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According to the Mandarin Historical Society, she was vital in building the first integrated school in Mandarin with the assistance of the Freedmen's Bureau.

In 1873, Stowe wrote "Palmetto Leaves," a collection of articles about her time in Mandarin which are credited for boosting tourism in the state, describing the wonders Florida has to offer.

"She was writing to her northern readers trying to entice them to come to the south, and the opportunity here," said Brittany Cohill, executive director at the Mandarin Museum.

Olis Garber
Artist Brenda Councill sculpts one of the children to be featured in the final design of her sculpture. The piece when finished will be named “Harriet Beecher Stowe in Mandarin,” which Councill said will represent Stowe while living in the winters of Mandarin of 1867 through 1884.

"The fact that she comes back to Florida, year after year during the winter speaks to that she felt that this was a welcoming place for her," Cohill said.

Olis Garber
The sculpture, “Harriet Beecher Stowe in Mandarin”, by Brenda Councill is created from oil base clay that will be cast in bronze in a five-month process in foundry. The statue will be installed in Walter Jones Historical Park sometime in the fall.

Councill, who currently resides in North Carolina, said she returned home to use the old Mandarin Post Office, which is part of the museum, as her art studio with permission from the Historical Society.

Councill said she also gained support from Stowe's great-granddaughter, Rosamond Warren-Allen, getting advice to help her with the accuracy of the piece.

"She's been very helpful," Councill said. "She has a vested interest in how she wants her ancestor to look."

Cohill said the project has gained donations and endorsements from the City of Jacksonville, Florida Communities Trust and Joan D. Hedrick, the author of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, "Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life."

Olis Garber
Brenda Councill sits down with two children being used as models for the sculpture. On the left is Eviin Wilson, a descendant of Walter Anderson, one of the oldest African-American families in Mandarin, and beside him is Councill’s great nephew Beckham Morgan. The two boys in the final design of the piece sit opposite of Harriet Beecher Stowe on an overturned orange crate while she teaches the children their ABC’s.

"This process of partnering with Brenda has been so special, to create a true experience for the public, " Cohill said. "It's been just really a wonderful experience, and we've been able to involve the community in this project at the level that we have.

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Turning this sculpture into bronze will be a five-month process, and is expected to be released by September of this year.

Councill hopes her piece is a moment to educate.

"Her movement continued up until her last days, so, I don't want people to forget from whence we came," she said. "We've got to know it so that we can move forward and move past these enormous obstacles that we have as a society.

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