New mural in downtown Tacoma to bring a message: Black Lives Matter

A months-long collaboration from the City of Tacoma’s Human Rights Commission and the Tacoma Art Museum is bringing a mural to Tacoma that illustrates the city’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The mural will be at Tollefson Plaza. In a statement made in a news release, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said she hopes the piece promotes a community conversation.

“With the prominence of this location, it is our hope that this mural will inspire deeper community conversation and engagement while showing our Black communities that their lives matter in Tacoma,” Woodards said.

According to a news release, the BLM Mural Project Tacoma is being led by artist Dionne Bonner with the help of artists Kenya Adams, Gwen Jones, Charles Taylor and Breyahna Monet.

Bonner described in the news release how the mural will draw from the past and future of African American history.

“This mural draws from Tacoma’s past and imagined future to celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans throughout history,” Bonner said.

According to the BLM Mural Project Tacoma website, the city’s Human Rights Commission’s Racial Justice and Equity Committee proposed the idea of creating the mural.

“The Human Rights Commission at the city approached us, and they really wanted to see a Black Lives Matter mural happen. It’s something that a lot of people had been wanting to see happen,” city public art specialist Rebecca Solverson told The News Tribune. “Other cities had been doing it, and it felt like it was time for us to have one here.”

According to the news release, the project has received funding from the City of Tacoma, Tacoma Creates and the Tacoma Arts Commission.

Painting the mural has begun in Tollefson Plaza and is anticipated to take a few weeks. The artists plan to work on the project everyday unless weather conditions are poor.

The public is invited to paint parts of the piece. Participation is open to all ages. People interesting in helping don’t need prior experience. Sign-up for people to come help the artists with the mural is available online at http://tinyurl.com/BLMMuralTacoma or at the site of the mural.

People also can contribute to the mural on July 30 at the project’s Community Handprint Painting Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day will give people a chance to place their handprint on the mural. Bonner said it is a way to show that racial equality takes everyone’s help.

“We planned a community event where, part of the mural is a quilt and part of that pattern on that quilt is going to be people coming out on our community day and putting their hands in this quilt as a way of saying, ‘We’re in this together,’” Bonner told The News Tribune.

Editor’s note: This article previously reported an incorrect date for the Community Handprint Painting Day. It has been updated with the correct date.