Black Lives Matter Mural To Be Painted On Harlem Street

HARLEM, NY — A massive Black Lives Matter mural will be painted on Harlem's Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in July, a neighborhood business group announced.

Eight local artists will begin painting the mural on the boulevard on Wednesday, July 1 with a final reveal on Saturday, July 4, Harlem Park to Park announced. Volunteers from neighborhood organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, Harlem Pride, Harlem Grown, Uptown Grand Central and Got to Stop will help create the public artwork.

The words "Black Lives Matter" will stretch Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from 125th to 127th streets. Both the north and south sides of the boulevard will feature the words running in the direction of traffic on the street.

"Art has always been the most consequential means of documenting any movement. At this historic moment for our country the opportunity to use art to ascend to a higher consciousness within the voice of this movement is a true responsibility and honor," participating artist LeRone Wilson said in a statement.

The Harlem mural is part of a plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this month as protesters took to the streets of New York City to demand justice for George Floyd and an end to police brutality and racism. De Blasio's original plan called for five murals, one in each borough, but the Harlem mural makes it six. Manhattan will also be getting a mural near Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, which has been a popular meeting spot for protests.

"We are thrilled to represent Manhattan with the Black Lives Matter mural in Harlem," State Senator Brian Benjamin, who sponsored the mural proposal, said in a statement. "Harlem is the cultural capital of the people, so the opportunity to showcase our artists and community to the world is imperative at this moment."

The first of the Black Lives Matter murals was painted in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.