Springfield’s Oldest Mural will be restored during Fresh Paint Springfield 2021

In 1968, when protests were erupting across the country, including in Springfield, brothers Don and Paul Blanton made their way through the crowds and National Guard to a storefront in the center of Winchester Square and asked if they could paint a mural. They wanted to make a positive contribution to the activism and struggle for equal rights. Their mural, which celebrates African-American heritage, still stands today although it is in extreme disrepair. WMass artist Kiayani Douglas, with the support of Don Blanton, will be repainting the mural during Fresh Paint Springfield 2021.

The community can also help repaint this historic mural by joining the Fresh Paint Party on Sunday, June 6 from 3 – 6PM outside the Mason Square Library, 765 State Street, Springfield, MA. This event is free and open to the public, no experience necessary.

The Heritage mural is the oldest mural in Springfield and the first of 37 murals that went up in Springfield during the 70’s. These murals were organized by artist and founding member of the AfriCOBRA Movement, Nelson Stevens. AfriCOBRA was part of the Black Arts Movement in America, a movement that began in the mid-1960s and that celebrated culturally-specific expressions of the contemporary Black community in the realms of literature, theater, dance and the visual arts.

Beginning in 1973, Mr. Stevens, a professor at UMass Amherst began a program of mural creation in Springfield. Nelson collaborated with other artists and students to design and paint thirty-six indoor and outdoor murals. “The objective of the program was to make the black community an outdoor gallery, so that each mural would be treated with the care of a stained glass window.” said Stevens.

Kay Douglas

Wilbraham, MA

Kiayani Douglas is an interdisciplinary portrait artist who uses ceramics, painting, drawing, and installation to curate conversations rooted in race, history, and privilege. STCC has recently added a piece of hers to their permanent collection with the hopes to encourage their student body to continue the conversation. Douglas uses batik-inspired patterns and portraits as her main way to engage people in the hidden narratives in her work. Using symbols of the African Diaspora and black liberation she pays homage to The Black Panther Party's 10 point Program. Douglas gets most of her inspiration from the artwork of Emory Douglas and his role as the BPP Minister of Culture. She currently lives and works in Wilbraham Mass, where she teaches ceramics and studio art to high school-aged students. Douglas is constantly finding ways to engage individuals into brave conversations around race, history, and privilege through her art as an artist and educator.