Detroit student group wants Black Lives Matter mural to be painted on Juneteenth
DETROIT (FOX 2) - "There's a lot of Black pain going on in America at this time but we want to celebrate the Black joy as well," said Sirrita Darby.
Darby is a teacher whose students organized a group called Detroit Heals Detroit. They started by writing short stories and poems to way to heal from traumatic experiences.
"It was a very powerful thing to go through to see how everyone was able to connect with their stories being different, but similar at the same time," said Brianna Donald, a 2020 graduate of Detroit Collegiate.
"We use this to turn our pain into power," Earneasha Byars, a senior at Detroit Denby High School.
They compiled a book with their writing, called "Forbidden Tears."
Byars reads a passage: "I'm afraid that one day I'll go to school and never leave / Gunshots will go off and I'll forever bleed / I'm afraid that because I'm Black my dreams will never be free / Just stay underground like an unsprouted seed."
Now the students have another dream - after seeing the Black Lives Matter mural painted on the streets of Washington D.C. and how it has led to similar ones popping up from California to North Carolina. They wanted to do one, too.
"So they came and said, 'Hey we saw these Black Lives Matter murals popping up within the city,' and Detroit is one of the blackest cities in America, so why shouldn't we be next?"
They are hoping to paint their mural along Woodward, Jefferson, Gratiot or even Eight Mile - and they're hoping to do it on Juneteenth.
June 19th is the day commemorating the end of slavery. The students have already organized meetings with street artists and muralists. FOX 2 has contacted the mayor's office to see if it's possible - and they are looking into it.
"I feel like it's a good thing to be a part of," said Kobi Sparks, 2020 Detroit Collegiate graduate. "It's something that you can say that you did. Years from now you can say, I was a part of that."
