This is the fifth installment of a photographic series called dead delta, which examines the shuttered, decaying, and derelict structures in Delta Junction, Alaska where I live.
the unfinished basement
“WIT POWR” scribbled on a wall in an unfinished basement.
While walking beside an open field on Nistler Road one summer day I passed an open concrete structure partially cloaked by overgrown brush. I looked inside and saw 6-foot tall shrubs growing through the drain in the slab and a seemingly intact well pump lying beside the well head. It looked like the basement of a home that was never finished, and I thought this abandoned construction project would be an interesting subject for my dead delta series, even though I supposed it could still be resuscitated someday.
When I returned with my camera, I hopped inside and noticed some crude scribble on one of the walls. It was faded and misspelled, but it exclaimed boldly in capital letters: “WIT POWR”. No other graffiti adorned the walls, so the words struck me in a way they might not have if they had instead been carved on a bathroom stall full of expletives. I stood there puzzling over how someone who couldn’t even spell some basic 5-letter words could feel so confident declaring their racial superiority. But, then again, maybe they didn’t feel so confident expressing their beliefs and that’s why they wrote it in a forgotten place where no one would catch them. I lost my appetite for creating artsy images and left without taking any of the shots I had envisioned beforehand.
The graffiti made me reflect on other instances of racism and xenophobia I’ve observed in my rural Alaska town. I’ve witnessed an elderly man casually telling an elderly woman over coffee in the crowded dining area of our lone grocery store that all black people are inherently depraved, and I’ve overheard the N-word while shopping in the same store. I’ve heard many locals badmouth “the Russians” (immigrants mostly from Ukraine who make up a substantial portion of the town population) as well as the Puerto Ricans who serve in the military at Fort Greely and their families. When I worked for the Missile Defense Agency, one of my coworkers told a racist joke about Alaskan Natives to a room full of mostly older white men during a meeting and almost everyone laughed, including the boss. Just a few months ago, a crowd of ill-informed residents packed a city council meeting in reaction to a proposal that would have allowed an expected grand total of one refugee—who already had family in the area—to resettle in the community, with some residents clamoring that Delta Junction would be turned into a sanctuary city. (Obviously, those people didn’t know what “sanctuary city” actually means.) Needless to say, the proposal was rejected with many residents proud that they prevented Sharia law, migrant caravans, and sanctuary city status coming to Delta Junction, Alaska—or whatever irrational fear it was they conveniently selected so they didn’t have to say out loud that they didn’t want any foreigners or people of color in their town.
But there’s nothing special about racism in my town because racism is everywhere in America. Certainly, there is plenty of goodwill in my community, but ignoring racism only allows it to thrive. Racism doesn’t rely on logic to survive, just fear, the force of peer pressure, and the inertia of habit. It’s time to speak up and tell your racist friends and family that their behavior is unacceptable; they may not listen to protesters in the streets, but they might listen to you. Don’t support the WIT POWR movement with your vote, either, even if it means sacrificing on other issues you care about, because the concept of WIT POWR is antithetical to the Constitution and every amendment guaranteeing Americans our basic rights. If you haven’t realized by now that the current president does not have any intention of faithfully supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States, nor does he have the slightest bit of empathy for other people, you’re delusional. One day ago he used physical force to clear protesters peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights so he could pose with a Bible in front of a church because he thinks the people in his base are so stupid they’ll fall for a blatantly sycophantic publicity stunt and won’t care about the inhumanity in his threats to unleash the military on American citizens. He directly panders to the WIT POWR voters because they make up a sizable portion of his “base” and the rest of his base doesn’t seem to mind. If you’ve supported him to this point without being revolted by his behavior or his woeful incompetence, be revolted now.
Peace.
Tall brush has grown around the structure and a portable set of wooden stairs still lean against a wall.
A well pump still lies inside the structure.