
January 16, 2025
by Sharayah Colter
A young child wets the bed. Naked, asleep, uncovered, and lying in a puddle, a mother takes a photo of the small girl, exposed and vulnerable. Instead of helping the child, as would be the natural and right instinct of any decent mother, the mother chooses that moment to take a photograph. As if tightening the screw on that already egregious and dumbfounding maternal response, the mother then submits that photo to be shared with the public in an “art” exhibit.
In a recent editorial piece published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, writer Bradford William Davis defends the indefensible in the photo just described above and asks others to do the same. What we have seen, though, through responses to an open letter circulated by The Danbury Institute is that citizens are not defending the display of child pornography at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Rather, they are incensed. And rightly so.
Davis excuses the photos of naked children by saying that “none of the photos are sexual.”
Yet, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth included a plaque at the exhibit that describes the collection Diaries of Home as showcasing “children naked, moody, and in suggestive situations” to “evoke an edgy, dark side of childhood.”
A dark side of childhood? Suggestive situations?
Absurd. Abhorrent.
Normalizing exploitative content such as this contributes to the acceptance of pedophilia, child trafficking, and abuse. Our communities should condemn this unequivocally.
Children cannot consent to pornographic photography or sexual activity. The reflex of a moral society should be to protect the most vulnerable among us – not to exploit them in their innocence and to invite a world of voyeurs to view them in their most private moments. I join about 2,000 signatories of The Danbury Institute’s open letter, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, in decrying the Diaries of Home exhibit as obscene and disturbing and supporting law enforcement’s removal of the images while an investigation is ongoing. A moral society, and especially Christ followers, must reject every action that exploits children or normalizes the acceptance of exploiting children.
Will you join us in standing against the cultural assault on children? Add your name to our open letter by visiting danburyinstitute.org/museum.
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