On a sunny, 78-degree Wednesday in October, a team of artists took to Plum Street to put the final touches on the fourth refresh of the “Black Lives Matter!” street mural outside of Cincinnati City Hall.

For the 17 members of the Black Art Speaks artist collective and their teams of painters, it was perfect mural-painting weather. They said it was  the best they’ve had, as the other three events included rain, blistering heat and other adverse weather conditions.

Each letter in the mural tells its own story about the Black experience – joy, struggle, forgiveness, camaraderie, and everything in between. The 17 artists were assigned a letter to  design on the mural, which was unveiled Thursday just ahead of the Blink light and arts festival.

While the mural saw its inception in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police

officer Derek Chauvin, that was not the inspiration for the art’s message, according to Alandes Powell, Black Arts Speaks president and CEO. 

Powell wrote a poem that inspired the mural’s message.  Each letter tells personal stories about the Black experience, as opposed to a political message.

 “The fact that we actually found ourselves in such a bad place, that history is being made, that people don’t acknowledge what we’ve been through, that discrimination is OK … if this is the norm, what are we going to do?” she said. “This is us talking to ourselves.”

Sharon Smith, known professionally asSharon Dewon, led and managed the project, finding local artists to participate and also designing her own letter – the second “T.” The senior artists on the original project are passing the torch to her and others to articulate their own vision. 

As such, the inspiration for her design was “legacy.” The text says we must “leave behind hatred, oppression, inequality and systemic barriers,” with an overlay of a father passing a sign to his son. People are joining hands over a sun emerging from storm clouds. 

“You can see it up in the sky, because that’s what it represents – so despite barriers that’s happening in life, it’s a storm you overcome. … There’s brighter days.”

A social worker by trade, Smith said she has seen the systemic barriers for herself. Her design sheds light on how they can be overcome. “It’s about legacy, leaving your footprints, holding administration accountable for things that can be done.”

The youngest artist was Madison Scruggs, a 16-year-old Walnut Hills High School student. Her “L” design was based on forgiveness, depicting tension in an argument. Symbols on her letter included a finger pulling a trigger, grinding teeth showing anger, and a mourning woman crying and looking toward the sky.

“It’s more like the emotion the forgiveness brings. It’s crying, it’s arguments, and then you have that feeling of forgiveness and letting go,” she said.

Quinn Battiste has worked on the project since 2020. His “E” design was inspired by change, documenting the past, present and future of Black history. 

In the center sits a Black child meditating on his people’s history. The outer corner begins with an image of the ancient Olmec sculptures found in Mexico City, moving to the pyramids, to more modern images depicting the U.S. Images of racial violence are followed by people giving speeches, protesting and then finally to an image of a Black superhero – what the meditating child sees as the reality of his people.

Of the mural’s message, Batiste said, “I truly hope this symbol will help spark some change in the community, and it helps spread awareness, because if people don’t say anything, if people don’t know, they can’t really expect change to happen.”

Full list of artists:

“B” – Kenniya Carter

“L” – Jailynn Stewart

“A” – Lade Richardson

“C” – Rashad Manuel

“K” – Nytaya Babbitt

“L” – Madison Scruggs

“I” – Christian Drye

“V” – Alena Starr

“E” – Blanche Smith

“S” – Antevin Brown

“M” – Alailah Kesler

“A” – James Pate

“T” – Deja Fletcher

“T” – Sharon Smith

“E” – Quinn Battiste

“R” – Rebecca Armstrong

“!” – Michael Taylor

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcincinnati.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

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