{"id":3594,"date":"2023-05-22T16:54:02","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T16:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=3594"},"modified":"2024-05-02T20:03:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T20:03:47","slug":"murals-towering-representations-of-black-life-enrich-des-moines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/murals-towering-representations-of-black-life-enrich-des-moines\/","title":{"rendered":"Murals\u2019 Towering Representations of Black Life Enrich Des Moines\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have often felt either exposed or invisible in my own hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In classrooms, workplaces and even driving along city streets, I\u2019ve felt the duality of being surveilled as a Black woman and also disregarded because of it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black people make up 11.3% of Des Moines\u2019 population and 4% of Iowa\u2019s. We have built lives in cities that are ranked among the worst places in the nation for Black people to live. Part of our lived experience as Black Iowans is loving ourselves in spite of our fellow Iowans\u2019 efforts to marginalize us.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Dana James<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n “The pair having a conversation on the steps of a home look like people I’ve known.”\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n
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After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in 2020, my husband and I would drive around the city, and I would take photos of the Black Lives Matter signs displayed prominently in residents\u2019 lawns. From economically challenged neighborhoods to wealthier ones across town, it felt affirming to know people of all hues could coalesce around us. A temporary salve however, as many of the signs no longer remain.<\/p>\n

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During one of the drives we took to flee the stress of the Coronavirus pandemic, which harmed Black Iowans disproportionately, we drove along University Avenue. As we crossed the busy intersection at Sixth Avenue, north of downtown, I heard my husband gasp.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I first caught a glimpse of <\/span>Future<\/span><\/i> by artist Jill Wells. I turned our SUV around and sped over to the mural, thinking: Who painted Black people on the side of a building? In Des Moines.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mural by Wells and <\/span>Marissa Hernandez<\/span><\/a>, both Drake University alumnae, is a permanent installation commissioned by the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. The mural is located along the north side of the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families, an organization that has programs to fight poverty and help small business owners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We took in the mural\u2019s scenes. A Black woman and man conversed on the steps of a home. Sticky notes became graduation confetti as a graduate held a child. A group of people <\/span>embraced<\/span>. A Black couple glanced lovingly at their children, tie-clad and briefcase in tow. The mural is inspirational. One of its central themes depicts the American dream of home ownership, which remains elusive for many Black Iowans.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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