BodyText4
“This [mural], we walk up to it, and it's larger than life,” Locke
said. “These are the men and women who are in our documents, in our
records, in the websites we design and the stories we tell. More
importantly, what we’re really here for is to let people know these are
your ancestors. They walked these streets, they lived in the historic
homes that were here first — some of them preserved, but not all — and
they set the model for the work that was done here. This is a community
that has been completely revitalized by their community activists. It's a
privilege to tell them all about the folks who paved the way for them.”
Burgher said that the mural both commemorates history and inspires change.
“We are standing on the shoulders of the ancestors who have gone
before us, but we're standing with the current activists, the teachers,
the educators, the politicians, the college presidents, the average
everyday citizens who make the world that we want to live in possible,”
Burgher said. “What we hope is that this art will remind us and inspire
us that we live in the world that we want to create.”