Black Lives Matter Mural On Street In Jackson

If you find yourself driving, walking or biking down High Street in Jackson you might notice something colorful and powerful catching your eye!

There's been murals popping up on streets, literally on the streets, all around the country and Jackson is the latest to join in.

According to MLive, with permission from the city, community members painted the street spanning half a city block on E. High Street (between S. Milwaukee and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) on Sunday, June 14th.

The location of the mural is just as important as the message as mural Hakim Crampton said, “There’s a lot of history in this area."

Just down the road near the mural is Elnora Moorman Plaza which MLive says is one of two Jackson parks named after black Americans and the next street over is home to a historic house that used to function as a place people could stay while traveling when hotels were still segregated.

“The real point of this is a message to us, a message to our community. It’s not a message to the system. It’s not a message to white people," said Crampton.
"It’s a message to us to say,‘Hey, we’ve lost a lot of people whose lives we’re supposed to value.’”

The mural in Jackson, while following the lead of other cities, comes as the nation is still having major conversations about police brutality and racism after the murder(s) of black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police.

Racism has no place in 2020 and that is something I will put my credibility and reputation on the line to continue the fight against. Why it's even so "controversial" to stand up against racism is beyond me but we're here, we're fighting, we're making powerful statements like the one in Jackson.

Not everyone can say their home town reflects the values they, as individuals, hold near and dear but I am so thankful my home does.

The black, red, and green mural was done by Jackson artists like Yhosef Ware who helped outline the words "so they glow," he said.