DETAILS:
Ellsworth Dansby, Jr. Statue Dedication
Tuesday, August 11th, 2026 – 4:30 p.m.
Ellsworth Dansby, Jr. Magnet School
2160 West Center Street
Decatur, IL 62526

Decatur, IL – A private donor’s contribution and support from the Heart of Illinois Community Foundation have underwritten a commissioned statue of Ellsworth Dansby, Jr. for installation in front of Dansby’s namesake Decatur school building opened in 2025. The bronze work was created by renowned sculptor and Decatur native Preston Jackson, for whom Decatur’s downtown greenspace was named. His “From the Cottonfield to the Battlefield” installation figures prominently in the park’s layout.

“I just thought the man needed something in his honor,” lead donor Jack McCoy said of commissioning the work to recognize Mr. Dansby, who served with the Tuskegee Airman and was only the second Black airman admitted into the World War II Army Air Corps.

Both McCoy and Jackson were personally acquainted with Mr. Dansby, to whom Jackson refers familiarly as “Junior.”

Jackson has depicted Mr. Dansby in his Tuskegee uniform, along with a Double V for Victory in Europe and Victory in the United States at its base, a reference readily recognizable to Black veterans. The sculpture also incorporates a scattering of pennies at his feet, referencing a quiet protest Mr. Dansby led to encourage hiring minority workers.

In June, Jackson told Decatur’s Herald & Review that: “Society is very slow in recognizing a lot of the things that Blacks achieve, especially artists. We’re still not included, and the fight continues. Junior Dansby went through the same stuff, soldiers coming home and not being recognized. I felt that when I was doing the statue.”

The Decatur Public Schools Foundation and Heart of Illinois Community Foundation invite the community and media for a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, August 11th.