Washington CNN  —  It is one of the most evocative works from the American Civil War: A sculpture of a Black man who had escaped from slavery helping an injured White Union soldier lost in hostile territory. When it was unveiled in 1864, John Rogers’ “The Wounded Scout, a Friend in the Swamp,” was celebrated for its anti-slavery message and patriotic tone. But in 2025, a Smithsonian exhibition, “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” asked visitors to reconsider the