Messages of Encouragement Left in Chalk Outside Nashville Mosque

NASHVILLE, TN — Amidst reports from around the country of racist and otherwise bigoted acts against Muslims and other minority groups in the wake of the election of Donald Trump as president, the sidewalk in front of a Nashville mosque is instead brimming with messages of love, encouragement and unity.

The sidewalk in front of the Islamic Center of Nashville in 12South is covered in chalk messages:

"We see you and we want you here!"

"We love you!"

"Thank you for making our town more beautiful."

It began as an impromptu project of East Nashville's April Benson-Scearce who grabbed some chalk and her three-year-old son Thursday morning and headed west. She wanted to make sure the city's Muslims, who have expressed concern about Trump's election given his campaign promise to ban Muslim immigration or implement "extreme vetting," know that there were people who would stand beside them.

As she drew, she asked passers-by to chip in and chip in they did, with dozens of people adding their own messages and cheerful pictures to the project.

"It was really kind of healing for me," Benson-Scearce told The Tennessean.

The Islamic Center's president Rashed Fakhruddin said the mural lifted his spirits.

“This is a reassurance that our community is really together and can do a lot when we look after each other,” Fakhruddin said, according to WSMV.

All images via J.R. Lind, Patch staff.