PEABODY – Cherry Blossoms paved the stairs leading up to Peabody Veterans Memorial High School’s upper lobby Wednesday night when their culture club unveiled its new mural for racial justice, “Hope Springs from Groundbreaking Roots.”
Mayor Edward Bettencourt and School Committee Member Beverly Ann Griffin Dunne were among those seated in the approximately 18-person crowd as club Co-Presidents Jada Martinez and Carissa Furtado pulled back the decorative sheet obscuring the mural.
The mural, which students spent more than two years painting, depicts a cherry tree with paper flower blossoms attached to the branches and paper butterflies taped around the trunk. The tree’s roots, meant to symbolize the roots of the fight for racial justice, are marked by the names of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, Malcom X, and others.
Among the butterflies are the names of those who lost their lives due to injustice, and on the flowers are the names of those who inspire hope for future equality.
Following the unveiling, the culture club surprised Martinez with her own cherry blossom flower to tape to the mural.
“Personally, I feel like the biggest accomplishment for me was receiving my flower, but also, people’s reactions,” Martinez said. “Having such a supportive community of people who are learning and trying to understand what it’s like being a part of a community. Especially with Black Lives, and what our culture and community means to us, I think the reaction that we got here today was so heartwarming and fulfilling.”
Furtado said that she was stressed with the idea of finishing the mural, and excited to see the two year project successfully completed.
“Making the mural, I was like ‘oh my God, we’re never going to finish it,’ because it was such a daunting task, but having finished it, and being here, makes me really happy and really excited for students to see it,” Furtado said.
Club Co-Advisor Mary Henry said that she was proud of the students, and that their passion for racial equality sends a strong, hopeful message to the community.
“I feel like it couldn’t have gone better if we tried. I think that the community sees what these kids stand for and it’s powerful, and it’s beautiful, and it’s hopeful, and it’s strong,” Henry said. “The fact that they were able to come up with this concept out of nothing, and it was student-driven, it’s just incredible and it’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
