Recently in Ezra Ereckson’s sixth period class, called C.A.R.E, a group of students decided to use an inspired design on the internet to sketch and paint a mural at the east wing, with the purpose of empowering Black students and providing more meaningful art on the walls.

The idea for a mural popped into the heads of the team working on this artwork when they found a blank space of wall at the entrance to the east wing. Since they were looking for a new project to work on, the idea seemed to just appear in the team’s head, and they went through with it.

To elaborate the artwork further, the five students who work on this mural are involved in the Cleveland Alliance for Racial Equity, or CARE. As the name suggests, the group works to raise racial equity and equality in the school. So to continue their work, they planned the mural to be hand sketched and painted onto the blank wall, mainly for the purpose of providing empowerment to Black students.

“The reason for the mural was to empower Black students, but also to put meaning on the walls,” said sophomore Kennidee Gillespie, who is the main organizer for this mural.

As for the specific design, it was mainly inspired by a piece of artwork on Instagram. The artist’s name is “juni.artist,” and the group asked if they could have a mural based on their artwork, which Juni accepted.

Not everything from Juni’s artwork is being pasted into the design. The group is changing the style of the hair, the planets in the background, and they are mostly focusing on making the face.

Another unique aspect of the design is the message being brought into the mural as well. At the time of writing this article, the message reads: “Dear Black Girls, show them why the sun kisses your skin like no other…written in your melanin is a fairytale of how one star fell in love with one another. Live so freely, comfortably, and beautifully in your skin.”

This quote was found by Gillespie, and she thought it would pair well with the mural. The quote amplifies the original artwork’s message. She said that she found the quote on the Internet, but does not remember where specifically.

As for the date of the mural, it seems that both Ereckson and the team working on the mural both want it to be completed by Dec. 15 or 16 of this year. This date is not definite as it may be done earlier or later, but it is the date the team wants it done.