“WORCESTER - A team of artists and volunteers were out early Wednesday setting up to paint a Black Lives Matter mural at the intersection if MLK Jr. and Major Taylor boulevards.
The work continued through the day as large letters spelling out Black Lives Matter were sketched, then painted with a base coat and then under the direction of local artists each letter became an individual piece of artwork.
Worcester City Councilor Sean M. Rose said 500 people volunteered to help artists paint the mural, which can be seen along Major Taylor Boulevard. It was a community-wide effort, he said, with people from all walks of life joining in.
‘Two months ago it was taboo to say Black Lives Matter. They thought you were anti-police, anti-government, and in some cases, anti-white," he said. "Now you have people making themselves vulnerable from not just the Black and brown communities, but the white community and others, saying racism is an issue. We need to do something about this.’
This mural and others created around the country grew out the the tragedy of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police and the protests that erupted afterward, including several in Worcester. It has sparked discussions not only of police treatment of African-Americans, but of systemic racism.
‘This artistic expression, this mural, is a symbol of just that, of people coming together in solidarity to support anti-racism, and coming together as a community and recognizing that all lives matter, for sure, but Black lives are in danger right now,’ Rose said. ‘We need to do something about that.’
By: George Barnes, Telegram and Gazette Article
Artist/Designer of the Letter A: Rush Frazier @breakupsauce