This street mural is in Greenville, North Carolina, and was created on December 13th, 2020, after months of planning. It says “Unite Against Racism” in large capital letters across West First Street, next to the Town Common Park. Each letter is a different color and contains different images. According to Professor Alice Arnold who was interviewed after viewing the artwork, “Inside each letter are messages. Sometimes words and sometimes images… Very beautiful and very well crafted. The messages are really clear”. Examples of phrases inside the letters are “Power to the People” and “Black Votes Matter”. The mural is two traffic lanes tall. The street was closed for 24 hours after the mural was completed to allow the public to safely view it. Cars were able to drive over the mural after that period.
This mural was sanctioned. The idea for the mural was brought to the city council in June but wasn’t approved until November 9th. Originally, the artists wanted the mural to say, “Black Lives Do Matter”, but the council approved “Unite Against Racism” instead. This mural was created by 24 different artists and volunteers. Local high school art teacher Randall Leach was one of the leaders of the project. He says “This is not the end. It’s not the end. This is what we can do now. We need to come to the table and have conversations to discuss what we can do to make this place better for all people”.
This mural was paved over starting on April 12, 2021. This construction was planned prior to the creation of the mural. A city council member said that this mural is only temporary, much like other murals across the state and country similar to this one. Although this mural may have been temporary, it had a large impact on the community.
Sources:
https://www.witn.com/2020/12/19/unite-against-racism-mural-in-greenville-ready-for-viewing/
https://www.wnct.com/local-news/greenville/unite-against-racism-mural-in-uptown-greenville/
https://greenvillenc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1694/66
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article247095722.html
http://www.piratemedia1.com/theeastcarolinian/article_e6aa9be4-9b92-11eb-82f9-7b392cb2abda.html
Researched by the Urban Art Mapping TeamThis Black Lives Matter Mural was installed on Elm Street between February One Place and Washington Street in Greensboro, North Carolina. The mural was painted during the weekend of June 27th, 2020, in the wake of nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis one month prior, and three weeks after the first Black Lives Matter street mural was painted in Washington, D.C. It was the second mural approved by the Greensboro Office of Arts and Culture’s Street Mural Program. A ‘One Love’ mural with yellow lettering following the theme of other street murals was painted on the nearby Davie Street the week before.
The painting was led by artist Rasheeda Shankle, who has helped create Black Lives Matter murals in other cities—such as Winston-Salem—and project leaders Kelley Creacy-Durham and Jason Keith. Many local Black artists participated in the painting, each decorating one of the seventeen letters with designs, images, and slogans advocating for racial justice. During the painting of the mural, the surrounding roads were closed, and the public was welcomed to observe the artist’s work. Itinease McMiller, a local news reporter at WFMY, described it on Twitter as: “The community has come out to see artists express their feelings about racial injustice through art.”
The city of Greensboro, and the site of the mural in particular, is linked with historical struggles for civil rights. The mural is located across the street from the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, formerly a Woolworth’s that was the site of sit-in protests against racial segregation beginning on February 1st, 1960, and becoming a landmark of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. While Elm Street is now open to traffic, the mural still exists and can be seen on the street as of January 2023, according to Google Maps.
Researched by Michael Francomb
Sources:
“Artists Finish Black Lives Matter Mural in Downtown Greensboro.” Artists Finish Black Lives Matter Mural in Greensboro, https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2020/06/28/artists-finish-black-lives-matter-mural-in-downtown-greensboro.
Author: Terrence Jefferies (WFMY News 2). “New Black Lives Matter Mural to Be Painted in Downtown Greensboro.” wfmynews2.Com, 28 June 2020, https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/parts-of-elm-street-temporarily-close-for-black-lives-matter-mural-in-downtown-greensboro/83-2d89c751-9473-46ae-851f-f933e8460ae7.
“Greensboro, NC.” City News, https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/14885/.
Staff. “Gallery: Greensboro's #BLM Street Mural.” Triad City Beat, 31 Dec. 2021, https://triad-city-beat.com/gallery-greensboros-blm-street-mural/.
Street Mural Program Update - Greensboro-Nc.gov. https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/45973/637347253887300000.
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