KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Black Lives Matter murals will be painted on six Kansas City streets Saturday in what organizers believe is the largest project of its kind.
Other cities across the country have similar murals, most notably the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. But none _ at least that organizers know of _ match the scope.
This project, KC Art on the Block, spans 2,000 feet of street and will involve 1,000 volunteers, hundreds of gallons of paint and six local Black artists leading the designs.
Each mural will feature "Black Lives Matter" in big block letters, but each artist is filling in those letters with varying themes.
"Cities can affect lasting change when they come together," said Damian Lair, who helped organize the project. He said that's what Saturday is about.
Lair, a managing director at a public affairs firm, said he returned from an out-of-town quarantine as the Black Lives Matter movement was gaining momentum earlier this year. He felt the urgency to create a statement.
First, he wanted to paint "Black Lives Matter" on the street outside his downtown apartment. But then he had the chance to create something bigger.
Lair, along with friend Crissy Dastrup, board chair of the Troost Market Collective, began asking community organizations to work on the project with them.
Planning started about three months ago.
Organizers wanted the project to be geographically diverse, within Kansas City limits. Locations, based on community input, range from the Northland to downtown Kansas City to South Kansas City.
Last month, City Council voted 12-1 in support of the project, with a resolution saying that the city "recognizes the importance and significance of the Black Lives Matter movement," and wants to "sanction the legitimacy of this powerful initiative aimed at advancing social justice and racial equity."
The city is not paying for the murals, but will help control traffic and close streets to get the project done. Donations will pay for supplies and artists' time.
The American Institute of Architects Kansas City is helping outline the designs on the streets, ensuring the letters are properly lined up. A construction company is helping clean the streets.
Other organizers include the city of Kansas City, the Kansas City branch of the NAACP, Troost Market Collective and the Urban League of Greater Kansas City.
The size of the Kansas City project is "trendsetting," Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League, said Thursday. "It is definitely history making. And it speaks to the desire of most Kansas Citians to bridge the racial divide."
Dastrup said the project is a statement of Kansas City's values.
"I think that's important for us to unify around some of these racial disparities that are negatively impacting our Black communities," Dastrup said. "It's absolutely necessary as we address systemic racism in our community."
Saturday's project is the first of a three-part push to create murals throughout Kansas City.
Up next: Vertical Black Lives Matter murals. Over the next six months, organizers will raise money to pay artists to install them on walls.
The last piece is to create a blueprint for others to add murals to their own neighborhood streets.
The murals will be painted in the following intersections: Northwest Briarcliff Parkway and North Mulberry Drive; Baltimore Avenue and West 10th Street; East 18th and Vine streets; Troost Avenue and East 31st Street; Brookside Boulevard and West 63rd Street; and East Meyer Boulevard and Troost Avenue.
Roads nearby will be closed starting at 6 a.m. Saturday and will reopen Monday morning.
Crews will prepare for the murals, including outlining the artists' designs, from 7 to 11 a.m. Then volunteers who have already registered will start painting and expect to finish around 4 or 5 p.m.
They will also be required to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Only two painters will work on each letter at a time.
The NAACP will host voter registration booths. Census takers will also be at all locations to educate people.
While nearly 4,000 people said on Facebook they are interested in attending, space for viewing the mural-making is limited.
Michael Toombs, who created the design for the 31st and Troost location and will direct the volunteers and artists there, said Kansas City should be proud.
Toombs, a board member of the Troost Market Collective, said his theme is focused on healing and on Black people who have made a major impact on American lives, including the three Black mayors of Kansas City: Emanuel Cleaver, Sly James and Quinton Lucas.
While he's honored to show the message, he said it breaks his heart that people need to be reminded why someone's life matters.
He referenced the story of the lost sheep in the Bible: When one went missing, a shepherd left the other 99 sheep to track down the missing one.
"That's what this is all about," Toombs said. "It's about helping save the one that's in danger. It doesn't mean the others matter any less."
The other artists are Avrion Jackson, Adrianne Clayton, Vivian Wilson, Warren Harvey and Harold Smith.
Toombs' mural will lie next to Operation Breakthrough, a nonprofit education and social services center. When children go inside, they will first walk by the words "Black Lives Matter."
Other murals will be painted near other schools.
"When you see so many diverse individuals come together for the purpose of sending that message, it just makes you feel good about humanity," Toombs said.
"And at the end of the day, we will have created a masterpiece."
