KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Six ‘Black Lives Matter’ street murals have been unveiled all around Kansas City on Saturday, Sept. 5.
The city-wide project is believed to be the largest of its’ kind, with various locations, an estimated 1,000 volunteers, 600 gallons of paint. The project, paid for by donations overall covers 2,000 feet of street.
“It’s amazing because it’s the first of its’ kind in the nation, but this one is being resonated with healing, what it takes to make people come together and support each other. That’s what we want this project to be,”Michael Toombs, Director of Art, said.
The locations include, East 63RD & Brookside Boulevard, East 63rd Street and Troost Avenue, 31st St and Troost Avenue, East 18th and Vine Streets, West 10th Street and Baltimore Avenue and Northwest Briarcliff Parkway and North Mulberry Drive.
Volunteers and artists say they are painting meaning into each letter of the mural and they hope it’ll attract attention to the cause.
“I learned it is about getting the message out there, because this isn’t going to fix any of the problems any time soon, but it’s going to get awareness. Awareness that black folks are people too, and we need to listen to their stories too,” Woody Woodward said.
Woodward, one of many volunteers who live in the neighborhood says he is happy to be a part of history.
“I am so happy to be here, I never dreamed I would be working on murals and be a part of something like this becoming our country’s history, this will be here for a while,” Woodward said. “The vibe has been so positive and it’s something we all need..”
They say even though this is art, the real beauty is in how everyone is coming together.
“It’s been a dark difficult time for everybody I think, and this is something so positive and the day couldn’t be more beautiful,” Connie McCade, volunteer painter, said.
Each location has a different theme, colors and design.
There was also voter registration booths and census takers at the six mural sites.
