'Heritage, History And Hope' Mural at Emerson
Tax deductible
A beautiful mural is planned for the retaining wall on the north side of Emerson Elementary School in north Tulsa.
Five local artists will work together to produce the “Heritage, History and Hope” art project, which has been organized by Mary L. Williams of Color Me True.
Each artist has freely and passionately agreed to work on this project as a cultural and historical artwork for the school and the community.
Donations to this project will go to funding the five artists plus the necessary tools and materials.
This mural will not be possible without support from the community—a contribution in any amount to the project is truly appreciated!
Artist statement from Mary L. Williams
Promoting Unity in the Community through Heritage, History and Hope Art Mural!
Emerson Montessori School emerged and survived during an era of Jim Crow racial tension juxtaposed by a resilient group of Black Americans who built what is remembered as the Black Wall Street of America, as coined by the famed Booker T. Washington after a visit to a city where Blacks created their own wealth side by side and serviced many White Americans as entrepreneurs in a biased culture.
Emerson school is now a beacon of the cultural climate change in a city where it makes an indelible mark of both the past and present. Today, the school is a demographic remnant to the changing culture of the City of Tulsa. The school's timeline echoes the dominant White past era of the 1921 Race Massacre to a segregated all Black school during the Post Civil Rights Urban Renewal Era, into the Multicultural academic institution of the new millennia. Emerson is now the first Public Montessori School in Oklahoma.
Our goal as artists is to create a mural will attract the past and present generations to a wall of learning and reflection. It will represent the Heritage, History and Hope of a community while being remembered as a school for the community and a community for the school.
Therefore, it is the desire of collaborative artists to create a Mural Memory of Heritage, History and Hope as a Timeline for students, teachers and community members to learn from, congregate and affiliate with one another on common ground. The mural represents a learning tree that will continue to grow stronger when the roots are watered and the branches are pruned of the evils that destroy, thus to bring forth the fruit of wisdom, knowledge and civil equity that will nourish our posterity for future generations.
—Mary L. Williams, Color Me True Workshops, 3/2/19
Five local artists will work together to produce the “Heritage, History and Hope” art project, which has been organized by Mary L. Williams of Color Me True.
Each artist has freely and passionately agreed to work on this project as a cultural and historical artwork for the school and the community.
Donations to this project will go to funding the five artists plus the necessary tools and materials.
This mural will not be possible without support from the community—a contribution in any amount to the project is truly appreciated!
Artist statement from Mary L. Williams
Promoting Unity in the Community through Heritage, History and Hope Art Mural!
Emerson Montessori School emerged and survived during an era of Jim Crow racial tension juxtaposed by a resilient group of Black Americans who built what is remembered as the Black Wall Street of America, as coined by the famed Booker T. Washington after a visit to a city where Blacks created their own wealth side by side and serviced many White Americans as entrepreneurs in a biased culture.
Emerson school is now a beacon of the cultural climate change in a city where it makes an indelible mark of both the past and present. Today, the school is a demographic remnant to the changing culture of the City of Tulsa. The school's timeline echoes the dominant White past era of the 1921 Race Massacre to a segregated all Black school during the Post Civil Rights Urban Renewal Era, into the Multicultural academic institution of the new millennia. Emerson is now the first Public Montessori School in Oklahoma.
Our goal as artists is to create a mural will attract the past and present generations to a wall of learning and reflection. It will represent the Heritage, History and Hope of a community while being remembered as a school for the community and a community for the school.
Therefore, it is the desire of collaborative artists to create a Mural Memory of Heritage, History and Hope as a Timeline for students, teachers and community members to learn from, congregate and affiliate with one another on common ground. The mural represents a learning tree that will continue to grow stronger when the roots are watered and the branches are pruned of the evils that destroy, thus to bring forth the fruit of wisdom, knowledge and civil equity that will nourish our posterity for future generations.
—Mary L. Williams, Color Me True Workshops, 3/2/19
Organizer
Molly Pickard
Organizer
Tulsa, OK
Emerson Montessori Foundation
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
