It was downpouring on Halsey Street in Newark Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t stop Kween Moore from dancing in between yellow letters she helped paint on the road to spell out “ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
“This is including everyone,” said Moore, who is an art teacher at Greater Oaks Charter School. “That’s why ‘all’ is emphasized at the beginning because we’re not leaving anybody out. No matter your gender, no matter what shade of Black you are.”
Artists stand in between the words "ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER" which were painted on a Halsey Street in Newark on June 27, 2020.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Moore was one of several artists who collaborated with the City of Newark and other organizations to paint the letters on the road. The groups also painted “ABOLISH WHITE SUPREMACY” on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in front of the Essex County Hall of Records.
Artists were still finishing up the last few letters in “supremacy” on MLK Boulevard late Saturday afternoon after they had to pause because of the downpour, but the rain didn’t dampen their efforts. The words “Black Lives Matter” were also laid out, but not yet painted.
Malcolm Rolling, who runs an arts production company called Yendor, said this project marks a significant week for Newark. Mayor Ras Baraka signed an ordinance that bans hate groups from the city’s borders and diverts funds from the public safety department for social workers.
“This whole week in Newark has been a sentiment of abolishing white supremacy,” Rolling said. “Just a couple days ago, Christopher Columbus was taken out of Washington Park. That monument being taken down in itself symbolizes so much for Black people and also people of color.”
Artists told NJ Advance Media the city reached out to get the murals started and the paint was donated by Sherwin Williams. Collaborators included students from the graphic design program at Rutgers University-Newark, New Arts Justice, Project for Empty Space and Newark Arts.
Other cities have painted similar murals after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in May. Washington D.C. painted the words “Black Lives Matter” on a street earlier this month.
Halsey Street in Newark's downtown now has the words "ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER" painted in yellow words after the city collaborated with artists.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Newark Arts and Cultural Affairs Director fayemi shakur (who does not capitalize the letters in her name) said the word “all” was included on the Halsey Street mural to gain more visibility for stories within the Black community that aren’t getting as much attention as Floyd’s.
“All Black lives matter was important to us because we wanted to put more emphasis on the value of trans lives, of Black women, of homeless people,” shakur said. “...Trans stories don’t get any attention at all.”
Layqa Nuna Yawar looked out on the Halsey Street mural and said it felt good to come out of the social isolation brought on by the coronavirus. This isn’t his first mural either. He helped paint the ones along McCarter Highway, which pay homage to the city’s landmarks and people like Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old lesbian who was killed on Broad Street during 2003 in a bias crime.
“We have young kids coming out and painting and this becomes a memory that they can cherish,” he said of the Halsey Street project.
Newark artists also painted the words "END WHITE SUPREMACY" on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which is right across the street from the Essex County Hall of Records.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The letters were also a welcome addition for Kevin Wilkins, who works at a clothing boutique called MH302 on Halsey Street.
“I think it’s beautiful and very powerful,” Wilkins said as he stood on the stoop in front of the business.
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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
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