College Park Plans Street Art to Honor Historic Lakeland Community

The city of College Park approved an extensive street art project to honor Lakeland.

Using $12,000 from a state grant, the Lakeland Heritage Arts Project will install murals throughout the historic African-American community that was devastated by an “urban renewal” project in the 1970s.

The 10 murals will be set along the path of the Lakeland walking tour and could be on everything from sidewalks to fences and retaining walls.

The arts group had originally planned for a more high-tech “augmented reality” project but had to scale back amid technical and legal issues.

The one-square-mile area around Lake Artemesia was a thriving Black community until an “urban renewal” program led by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development began systematically tearing down more than 100 houses in 1968.

In recent years, the city has commemorated Lakeland with a mural, formed a Restorative Justice Commission to work with former residents and hired researchers to put together a comprehensive history of the area.