A new Hyattsville mural that is one of the Route 1 corridor’s first honoring the Black Lives Matter movement has been completed thanks to the work of artists Isak Shah and Darren Soto.
The mural, which is visible from the south end of the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail near the Franklins underpass at the new community gathering space created by SoHy Co-op called The Spot.
Referencing historical photographs of the civil rights movement of the 1960s as well as last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, the mural features the likenesses of both key historical figures and some prominent Prince George’s County natives.
“We wanted this mural to portray a celebration of Black life, and draw focus to the Black Lives Matter movement,” Shah told the Hyattsville Wire. “We just hope that people see it and think of love, and not hate, and of all the Black excellence that comes out of Prince George’s County.”
The national leaders include such notables as civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer.
Local notables include state Sen. Joanne Claybon Benson; Rev. Perry Smith, a North Brentwood pastor and Freedom Rider; NAACP leader Sylvester Vaughns, who led the lawsuit that desegregated Prince George’s schools; actor Jermaine Fowler; and former North Brentwood mayor Lillian K. Beverly, among others.
Using black and gray to portray individual protesters against a strong yellow background, the mural blends the recent and historical moments together, with signs that read “Free Huey,” “No More Injustice,” “We Will Not Fall,” and “Stop Police Killing.”
The overall effect is to create a portrait of a protest that transcends a specific historical moment to show “the ongoing timeline of fighting for justice and equality,” Shah added.
The mural project was sponsored by Hyattsville’s Artist & Craftsman Supply, Will’s Decorating, the City of Hyattsville and and Maryland Milestones.
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