GREENSBORO, N.C. — Art is playing a critical role in sparking conversations about race in America. The artwork is also documenting a reenergized call for equal justice.
Across the nation, artists are coming together to paint murals supporting police and criminal justice reform.
This week, talented Triad artists are bringing that same effort to life in Greensboro by collaborating on a street mural downtown. Artist Phillip Marsh said the "One Love" mural will cover parts of Davie Street near Lebauer Park.
The goal is to have it completed by Friday, which also marks Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
"All throughout history, art always leads the charge of the change in communities and in society," Marsh said. "We just advocate not only as a Black creative but a creative period, that this city understands and starts the overdue dialogue of the place that art has in the community."
Initially, Marsh said the tribute murals were a way to give artists a platform to share their feelings and document their interpretation of the Black experience. In the days following George Floyd's death, Marsh painted nearly a dozen murals downtown to add his voice to the conversation.
"Marginalized artists who could not get their artwork up into galleries were forced to paint that way and now they are the hottest ticket in the art world and so now they're getting more opportunities," Marsh said.
This was especially important following the vandalism and looting that happened during the first weekend of protests when a largely peaceful demonstration turned violent. He said the artwork on boarded-up businesses was designed to bring the community together.
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"When our downtown could have looked like a ghost town, boarded up, it was art that came to the rescue and made it vibrant to where creative tourism took hold and not only created tourism but other cities followed our lead. So you had Raleigh and Charlotte who then also started to paint their boarded-up storefronts. And that is the power of art," Marsh said.
You will see that same power in the "One Love" mural, which is a play on the song made popular by reggae artist Bob Marley.
Weather permitting, the mural will be ready to view by Friday.
The city of Greensboro rolled out a new Street Mural Program, which could lead to more community-led murals. Artists must submit an approved plan to install murals on city-maintained streets.