Located in the public library parking lot at the corner of Broad Street on the pavement between the public library and the Town Green. ]]>
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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News Coverage by Hartford Courant]]>
2020-11-08]]> Artists: Levey Kardulis, Tony Le, Sacha Kelly, Madina Academy, Andre Rochester, Che LaMora, Anne Gogh, Candace Donaldson, Corrine Patterson, Andres Chaparro, and Naieem Kelly

Photographer: Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant)]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>
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Youtube video by Cambridge Housing Authority

Youtube video by Cambridge Housing Authority

Tweet by Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition on October 22, 2020]]>
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News Coverage by Black Westchester Magazine and Hamlet Hub

Youtube video by LMC Media Productions]]>
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The mural was proposed and developed by the Banneker Community Center Advisory Council (BCCAC), a resident-led board that reports to the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Both Black Lives Matter murals have been approved by the Board of Parks Commissioners, Bloomington Arts Commission, City Council via resolution, and the Board of Public Works.]]>
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News Coverage by Indiana Daily Student and The Bloomingtonian]]>
2020-10-24]]> Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>
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News Coverage by Whyy PBS]]>
2020-10-23]]>
Photographer: Whyy]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>
Taking up nearly 350 feet of Woodland Street in Nashville, Tennessee, yellow letters surpassing 60 feet in height can be seen spelling out the words “Black Lives Matter.” This massive mural, which took inspiration from a similar work in Washington D.C., is a community project that was completed on October 17th, 2020.  

According to organizer John Smith on the day of completion, the mural took about 5 months to come together: “We’ve been working on this since June and a lot of people said it wasn’t going to happen and it happened today so we’re excited.” Funded exclusively by private donors, the project was approved by the Metro Arts Commission to be a temporary mural, with a city permit that expired in January 2021 at which point the coalition responsible for it would have to reapply for an extension. On June 19, 2021, the mural was refreshed.  

Artists and volunteers of all ages and ethnicities united on this day to apply a fresh coat of paint to the three large words, as well as celebrate Juneteenth with live music, food, and dancing. Many were community members who had participated in the original creation of the mural, such as artist Thraxton Waters. Like the rest of those present, Waters hoped to bring more representation to the black community in Nashville, saying “There’s representations of blackness all around, but just not positive ones. So we’re trying to hopefully have a symbolic, positive first step to adding in this city.” The mural was first put in place following protests against racial injustice, and now it serves as both a reminder and a gathering place for like-minded individuals and influential community members. This includes Senate candidate Marquita Bradshaw, who attended in support of the original painting of the mural, as well as Brenda Haywood, deputy mayor of community engagement in Metro Nashville. 

Sources: 

Beimfohr, Chelsea. “Volunteers Paint 350 Foot Long Black Lives Matter Mural in East Nashville.” WKRN News 2, WKRN News 2, 18 Oct. 2020, https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/volunteers-paint-350-foot-long-black-lives-matter-mural-in-east-nashville/ 

Yu, Yue Stella. “Juneteenth Celebration: Community Artists, Activists Refresh Black Lives Matter Mural on Woodland Street.” The Tennessean, Nashville Tennessean, 19 June 2021, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2021/06/19/nashville-juneteenth-celebration-artists-black-lives-matter-mural-woodland-street/7690567002/ 

McCall, Holly. “In Nashville, Political Weekend Events on Both Ends of the Spectrum.” Tennessee Lookout, 19 Oct. 2020, https://tennesseelookout.com/2020/10/19/in-nashville-political-weekend-events-on-both-ends-of-the-spectrum/. 

Researched by Kyle Larson 

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News Coverage by WKRN and Tennessee Lookout]]>
2020-10-17]]>
Photographer: WKRN]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>

The Department of Art and Art History has partnered with other units on campus — including the Department of Ethnic Studies and the Black/African American Cultural Center, with input from the Office of the Vice President for Diversity — to join the nationwide street art movement that emerged this summer with similar pavement paintings.]]>
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News Coverage by Colorado State University

Youtube video by Colorado State University]]>
2020-10-14]]>
Photographer: Aerial shots by Joe Mendoza and Ron Bend]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>
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News Coverage by Tulsa World]]>
2020-10-11]]>
Photographer: Tulsa World]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>

The event was permitted by the city. The city gave Voces de la Frontera a permit to host a block party from 8 am-5 pm, and to paint the mural with tempera paint. Voces de los Artistas (and the Art Build Workers) took a key role in organizing the street painting action, the banner painting stations, and the screen printing. It was artists working directly in a movement. It was the power of an art affinity group (Voces de los Artistas) in a movement (Voces de la Frontera.) It was the power of youth organizing – YES! (Youth Empowered in the Struggle) with Voces. It was the power of allies in the community volunteering their time and energy. And it was the power of the community to imagine and to fight for a better world.]]>
The Black and Brown Lives Matter street mural in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was created by a group called “Voces de los Artistas” after the phrase “Black Lives Matter” was painted on the street of Washington D.C. on the way to the White House. “Voces de la Artistas” is an art affinity group led by low-wage workers, immigrants and youth working to expand and protect civil rights and workers’ rights through leadership development, community organizing and empowerment.  

This protest movement started after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. As a neighboring state, Wisconsin has also experienced systemic racism including police brutality. After Jacob Blake was shot and two anti-racist protestors — Anthony Hubber and Joseph Rosenbaum — were murdered, VDLA was motivated to promote the strength of unity and the importance of giving immigrant youth the right to vote, and to end White Supremacy in leadership roles.  

This street art also includes a message saying, “Voting is Power.” 

 This piece of art took nine hours to complete and is 275 feet long by 50 feet tall. It is located in Milwaukee’s South Side, a historic site for the Latinx community. It is located on the 700 block of Historic Mitchell Street, outside of a neighborhood that is heavily populated with white people. The creation of this art was sanctioned. The group was given permission by the city to host an event where artists from Voces de los Artistas would come and paint the mural. During this event, VDLA also hosted an event where children could come in and participate in painting on a sidewalk, banner, and screen printing on t-shirts and posters. The Voting is Power: Black and Brown Lives Matter slogan is still present on the street of Milwaukee’s South Side.  

https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3513 

https://www.courant.com/2020/11/13/street-mural-in-windsor-aims-to-unify-community-in-fight-against-racism/ 

Researched by the Urban Art Mapping Team

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News Coverage by Milwaukee Independent]]>
2020-10-10]]>
Photographer: Raymond Moore Jr.]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>

The mural was a collaboration among Black Lives Matter New Haven (BLMNHV), the city’s Division of Arts, and Culture and Tourism.]]>
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 Moore

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News Coverage by Greater New Haven Arts Council]]>
2020-10-04]]>
Photographer: KMCDPhotography]]>
Stephen Larrick, Black Lives Matter Street Mural Census]]>