LYNN — The proposal for a Black Lives Matter mural on Essex Street in the proximity of the district courthouse, police station and City Hall got one step closer to fruition Wednesday.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee joined the two English High School seniors who helped get the project off the ground by signing the City Council order permitting the mural, which was passed last week.
“Today, I was pleased to be joined by Carlos Prudencio and Damianny Garrido to sign the council order that was passed last week by the Lynn City Council to execute a Black Lives Matter mural on Essex Street,” McGee said in a Facebook post. “This mural embodies more than a form of art. It will serve as a symbolic reminder that we are on a path of hope and collective healing. This visual representation will allow for marginalized communities throughout the city to have their humanity recognized.
“The City of Lynn is a community made up of people of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, disabilities, and religions, and we celebrate our diversity as one of our greatest strengths,” McGee said. “The installation of a Black Lives Matter mural will build upon the city’s renewed commitment towards improving racial and social justice for all Lynn residents by acknowledging the fact that Black lives matter.”
Prudencio said on Facebook that he and Garrido will discuss the timing for the installation of the mural, which he hopes will take place in July, “so that the road will have no construction on it and it will be freshly paved.
“Mayor McGee has expedited this project so that the street can be in the best condition to paint on,” Prudencio wrote.
The idea of a mural began germinating last June, shortly after George Floyd died at the hands of ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who held his knee to the Black man’s neck for over nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted last month of second-degree involuntary murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Though McGee expressed initial support for the mural, others in the city opposed the proposed location, including Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard, who worried that approving it would set a precedent for “opening up the streets to basically be a billboard for any message.”
Earlier this year, Starbard and Council President Darren Cyr proposed a “Diversity Square” in Central Square, where the mural would be placed on Exchange Street. However, the two students rejected that proposal, saying the mural’s proximity to the center of city government and law enforcement was the most desirable location.
The council subsequently passed the proposal unanimously last week.
