Article by Valerie Wells, Decatur Herald & Review

Decatur-born artist Preston Jackson remembers when Ellsworth Dansby Jr. and his brother Bobby visited the Jackson family home, that Dansby, known to friends as “Junior,” would pick up Jackson and his twin sister Priscilla and “fly” them around.

The twins were small children then.

A statue of Dansby was unveiled August 11 at Ellsworth Dansby Jr. Magnet School, a statue sculpted by Jackson, who is known worldwide for his art.

“The most important thing in our lives, as artists, and as observers of art, are the roots of art in our lives,” Jackson said. “This has roots in a neighborhood, the neighborhood where I was born.”

The statue depicts Dansby Jr. holding a small plane in the air, much as he once held Jackson. Dansby, a mechanic in World War II, was always tinkering with something, Jackson said.

“He would take things apart and put them back together,” Jackson said. “He built a flying machine out of parts, and that was the talk in the neighborhood, and as he got a little older, he would fly. Not that plane, it was too dangerous,” he added, getting a laugh from the audience.

The idea for a statue of Dansby for the school was Jack McCoy's, a philanthropist and retired pharmacist, who remembers Dansby well from the days when Dansby and his wife would come into Raycraft Pharmacy to have lunch. Raising the $105,000 cost of the statue required some effort, he said, with the Heart of Illinois Community Foundation and Decatur Public Schools Foundation helping push it over the top.

The Untold Stories committee's co-chair, Julia Livingston, said that a school and a statue named for a significant figure like Dansby, who was one of the Tuskegee Airmen — the first African American military pilots and support personnel in the United States Armed Forces — helps in the effort to highlight contributions of African-Americans to Decatur and Macon County.

“Today, the unveiling of Ellsworth Dansby Jr.'s statue is what we feel is another example of our community partnerships and how they're key in highlighting African-Americans who have really played pivotal roles in our community,” she said.

The Untold Stories committee is behind the effort to create an African-American Heritage Trail in Macon County, and has placed two plaques so far — the first at Dansby Magnet School, the second at Parsons School, named for Judge James Parsons, the first Black federal judge. Further installations are in the works and will be announced in due course, she said.

“Our work has continued with a few murals done by Antonio Burton, a.k.a. Toni Picasso,” she said. “One is right here in Principal (Rida) Ellis' school as well,” Livingston said.

There's a lot more work to do, Livingston said, bringing that history to the community with the support and help of the community.

Ellsworth Dansby III was also in attendance at the dedication of the statue of his father. “That's very nice,” he said. “Judge Parsons, I don't think he had anything quite like this. Decatur seems to be getting ready for another positive change.”

Superintendent Nicole Nash Moody said she'd seen a “sneak preview” of the statue already but as she begins her first year as superintendent of Decatur Public Schools, she's inspired by being a part of history.

“I read about in history books in school, and as an adult, I've taught (history), but seeing one of our schools named after Dansby Jr. and also to see Preston Jackson,” she said. “I fell in love with (Jackson's) work along the Peoria riverfront, and I'm excited to see him in person, and see some of his art. I'm so proud of our principal and our community that have come together. Seeing our city officials and our community officials here, honoring our great African-Americans who have made contributions, and this is an example that this city really does embrace all people.”