EAST NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's painting with a message!
Dozens of volunteers gathered in East Nashville on Saturday afternoon to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Woodland Street between North 1st Street and Interstate Drive. It's right next to Nissan Stadium.
"He kept his neck on George Floyd for almost 9 minutes and Mr. floyd said I can't breathe," said Senator Brenda Gilmore, "and it's time for all of us to say we can breathe! We say it with this mural that it's time for healing, let the healing begin for all of us."
You may have seen these "Black Lives Matter" in other big cities like D.C, Baltimore and New York City.
Organizers say they're setting theirs apart by adding other colors to it instead of only having yellow lettering.
The "B" will include red, black and green to represent the African Flag, the "L" will have the colors of the rainbow to represent the LGBTQ community, and the "M" will have music notes symbolizing Music city.
It will send a message of solidarity and racial equality.
"I was thinking to myself because I'm old enough to experience a lot of injustices when it comes to color of your skin but I decided I would never quit," said former councilman Ludye Wallace, "while we're here today lets make a commitment we will never quit. We can't wait until a brother and sister is shot down and brutalize and then we come back to protest."
Along with the message of racial equality, there is another important message today, to get out and vote.
Early voting has already started in Tennessee and election day is November 3rd.
No tax dollars were used for this mural project. One of the major supporters and sponsors is Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG). The Mural project is self-funded from donations from community members, grants project volunteer applied for, and gifts from local vendors, churches, and community groups.
