Art students from Eastside High School, under the guidance of educator Leslie Welborn, created a monumental painting in honor of Black History Month. This nine-foot artwork was unveiled during Eastside High School’s annual Black History Month production Thursday, February 13, 2020.
By examining Black History, Eastside encourages everyone to gain a greater appreciation of what it means to be free. The painting highlights eight inspiring African Americans loosely arranged chronologically, focusing on three time periods: slavery era, civil rights era, and modern era. Their portraits are imposed on a black background using only red, white and blue to emphasize their contributions to our country. In connection with each person is a silhouetted image that corresponds to the impact they had on society. Light shining from behind the painting illuminates the cut out silhouettes to accentuate the lasting effect of these inspiring people.
The project is completely student designed and student created. The muralists include seniors: Abigail Brown, Datrell Collins, Jalen Davis, Yessenia Jacobo, Audrey Johnson, Audrey Joyce, Sarah Kessler, Emma Kate Leach, Christian Marcelli, Leilani Martinez, and Mackenzie Nix. These students collectively volunteered over two hundred hours to create this display. The painting will be on display in the main lobby of the Historic Courthouse from Friday, February 14, 2020 through the end of the month. The general public is invited and encouraged to visit the Historic Courthouse to view this incredible piece of art.