The “End Racism Now” mural was created over the course of several days, with volunteers and artists working together to paint the large-scale artwork on Trinity Street in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. The artists who helped to create the mural include Levey Kardulis, Tony Le, Sacha Kelly, Madina Academy, Andre Rochester, Che LaMora, Anne Gogh, Candace Donaldson, Corrine Patterson, Andres Chaparro, and Naieem Kelly. The artwork features the words "END RACISM NOW" in bold, colorful letters, along with other images and symbols related to the fight against racism. The mural still exists and has not been damaged. It is located in the public library parking lot and each letter has its own individual design.
The creation of the End Racism Now street mural took place during a time of significant social unrest and protests across the United States in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. The mural was created as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. The artist said they wanted the mural to promote community. “I did not want chains and handcuffs. I want to bring the people together, not create more lines of separation,” Kardulis said. “This isn’t done for protest. It’s about community, about bridging the gap.”
The location of the mural is significant because it is situated on Trinity Street in downtown Hartford. This area is a highly visible and heavily trafficked area of the city. The mural serves as a powerful piece of public artwork that brings attention to issues of racial injustice and inspires positive change in the community. This piece was created to gain recognition for a very important cause. It was created in a highly populated area so that as many people as possible could gain recognition and hopefully inspire those who witness it to make a change.
Researched by Jeremy Klick
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The Black Lives Matter Mural is located on Temple Street, in front of the City Hall, in New Haven Connecticut. It was designed by artists Carlos Perez, Jesse Wolfe, and Marsh, who are local to New Haven. The mural was organized by Black Lives Matter New Haven (BLMNHV), the City of New Haven Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs, local businesses, and the artists (McFadden, 2020) (WTNH, 2020). The mural is one of eight organized by the city of New Haven. The objective of the art installations is to bring awareness to social justice causes (McFadden, 2020). The organizers and artists recruited more than one hundred volunteers to help paint the mural. The artists added their own designs to the first letter of each word in “Black Lives Matter.” Perez painted the “B” and included words painted in white like “justice”, “inclusion”, and “freedom” within the letter itself. Marsh painted the “L”, which includes a floral design with a heartbeat moving through the letter. Finally, Wolfe painted the “M”, which has an image of a hooded individual with their hands up, one open and the other in a fist (Mcfadden, 2020). The entire mural is painted in black and yellow.
The painting of the mural turned into a festival, featuring a DJ, dancers, black-owned businesses, a voter registration booth, and speeches by predominant members of the Black Community in New Haven (Pineda, 2020). Sun Queen, a founder of BLMNHV, spoke of the shooting of Stephanie Washington and Paul Witherspoon, two black individuals who were shot by police officers on April 16th, 2019, in Hamden, CT. “Black trauma is real and if there is anything BLM NHV can do to support you we are here.” (Pineda, 2020). Wolfe also spoke about being racially profiled at the hands of police, which served as inspiration for his design. “Police brutality here is just swept under the rug and not televised.” (McFadden, 2020). Wolfe also said “Cops have to pass by it, I hope they think twice and remember Black lives do matter and take more caution.” (Pineda, 2020).
Overall, the mural has been a huge success for the community of New Haven and has brought a significant amount of progress for the Black Lives Matter movement. As of June 28th, 2022, the Mural is still located on Temple Street (Google Earth, 2022).
Sources
McFadden, M. (2020, October 4). Temple Street Painted "Black Lives Matter". New Haven Independent. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/blm_mural_2
Pineda, A. (2020, October 4). Black lives matter mural lands on Temple Street. Arts Council Greater New Haven. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/black-lives-matter-spreads-its-message-to-temple-street
WTNH.com. (2020, October 3). New Haven's second black lives matter mural painted onto Temple Street. WTNH.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-haven/new-havens-second-black-lives-matter-mural-painted-onto-temple-street/
Researched by Jack MooreThis Black Lives Matter Mural is located on the outskirts of Hartford, Connecticut, in a city called Bloomfield. This inspirational piece is at the center of the town square for everyone to walk around and observe. Under the leadership of Hartford artist, Stephen Richmond, other artists helped create this vibrant and colorful BLM mural. It is on the pavement in a vehicular turnaround in front of Bloomfield Town Hall. It was created in a way to celebrate Black pride and show support to those who want to decentralize racial inequality. This overall piece consists of the words “Black Lives Matter” in bubble letters with a black power fist at the end. Each letter has a different painting representing a unique and influential story.
This 90-foot mural was the first of three created in the summer of 2020. Each letter was assigned to a different artist who gave their personal story about what Black Lives Matter means to them. Richmond, the artist in charge said, “Black Lives Matter murals are a sign of protest, to show that when we’re not here peacefully protesting, we’ll be back,” The goal of this mural was to bring everyone together and make aware of some of the issues that most of society is facing. “Bloomfield is a majority Black town, so this is more a message of solidarity and empathy. We do not have to protest in this town. But we are aware of what is happening elsewhere,” said Richmond.
This city-approved mural still stands today.
Researched by Maddy Swartzmiller