Atlantic City, Mayor Marty Small Declares Black Lives Matter With Street Mural
By Clyde Hughes |AC Joseph Media
ATLANTIC CITY — On Friday, Mayor Marty Small Sr. lead a team of artists and community activists to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Atlantic and Pacific avenues to paint “Black Lives Matter” on the street, mere blocks away from the popular casinos and restaurants in the resort New Jersey town.
At a news conference, held in front of Atlantic City’s Civil Rights Garden, Small announced in a proclamation that starting next year, each September will be designated as “Black Lives Matter” month in Atlantic City. He said he wanted to leave more of a legacy and continuing tribute beyond “Black Lives Matter” in bright yellow paint.
A surprise guest for the event was Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner. Garner’s death while in custody of New York City police in 2014 helped galvanize the original “Black Lives Matter” movement along with the deaths of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice.
Carr reminded the crowd that “Black Lives Matter” should extend well beyond police brutality and encompass economic issues, education, neighborhood issues, etc.
After the news conference, Small invited the community to take a paint brush and help finish painting the final letters to the “Black Lives Matter” street mural.
The idea of the “Black Lives Matter” street mural started with Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who painted the first street mural near the White House in response to criticism from President Donald Trump over who controlled the streets in the capital city. Bowser responded with the street mural and remaining portion of the street Blacks Lives Matter Plaza. Other cities around the country followed with their own street murals.
Story will be updated Saturday, Sept. 5.
Below are photos from the event:
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