On last night’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack, I talked with Ypsi Community Schools (YCS) art teacher Lynne Settles, an Ypsi High student by the name of Paris, Jackson-based artist Douglas Jones, and local historian Matt Siegfried about a new mural that, thanks to their tireless efforts, and the efforts of a good many YCS students, just went up at 432 Harriet Street, on the side of Currie’s barbershop. While audio of our interview probably won’t be up for a few more days, I wanted to share this photo of their mural, and remind everyone that there will be a formal unveiling this Wednesday, November 11, at 11:00 AM. If you have the time, please make it a point to stop by and talk with Lynne, Paris, Matt, Douglas, and the dozens of YCS students who volunteered their time and talent to help commemorate the life and accomplishments of HP Jacobs, a runaway slave from Alabama who made his way to Ypsilanti, became a janitor at what is now Eastern Michigan University, and then went on to found both a church and a school for black children here, before heading back south after the Civil War, where he served in the Mississippi State Senate, helped found what is now Jackson State University, and, at the age of 65, become a doctor.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only teen mural being unveiled in Ypsi this week. Just yesterday, the teen group affiliated with the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (WICIR) formally unveiled their mural at 410 West Michigan Avenue, on the side of Dos Hermanos Market. [I’d invited representatives from this group to be on last night’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack as well, but, unfortunately, they couldn’t make it.] Here’s their mural, which, I was told by one of the organizers, contains various symbols intended to convey the “feelings, past experiences, and current struggles” of the young men and women from mixed immigration status families who designed and pained the piece. [The teens who created this mural were assisted by Costa Rican artist Alejandro Chinchilla.]
[The above mural was made possible in part thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation.]
Public art that arises organically out of the local community is almost always a good thing. And that’s especially true when it’s our young people who are making it happen. In a world where people of all ages are increasingly isolated, and kids seem to feel less and less a part of the communities they inhabit, I think it’s incredible that we have these two groups of young people here in Ypsi who are willing not only to engage publicly, but to claim public space and make it known that they have both voices and talent. Our community is stronger because of their contributions… Here’s hoping that others follow their lead and make the decision not just to move passively through our city, but to actively contribute and help make it a better place.
[note: I don’t want to make more work for folks, but I’m thinking it would be really cool if there were QR codes on these murals so that people, if they wanted to, could bring audio tracks up on there phones and hear the voices of the young people involved talking about their work.]
