New Bronze Marker Outside City Hall Memorializes Black Lives Matter Mural

Despite the scorching heat, about one hundred people gathered outside City Hall on Wednesday to celebrate the unveiling of a new bronze marker commemorating the “Black Lives Matter!” mural on Plum Street.

“This stands as a testament to Cincinnati’s willingness to confront difficult truths and fight for justice,” said Alandes Powell, the Executive Director of Black Art Speaks who spearheaded the project. “This is Cincinnati at its best.”

The marker, which stands to the right of City Hall’s main entrance, includes a mini representation of the mural it stands in front of. It also lists all of the artists who contributed to the project. The back of the mural includes a poem by Powell, titled “We Want What You Want,” which inspired each letter of the “Black Lives Matter!” mural:

We Want What You Want
To know that the people carrying the gun have a desire to protect and not kill
We Want What You Want
To know that your voice will speak against the wrongs and support the rights
We Want What You Want
A place that our Art of Blackness will be safe as it hangs in your place, the poem reads, in part.

Cincinnati has been investing in art projects supporting the BLM movement since 2020. City Council voted unanimously to create the BLM mural on Plum Street outside City Hall in 2020. The mural received a new paint job in 2022 after weathering and enduring vandalism.

City Manager Sheryl Long, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Mayor Aftab Pureval were among the city leaders who gave remarks at the event. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney and Councilmembers Anna Albi, Scotty Johnson, Mark Jeffreys and Meeka Owens also attended the unveiling.

Long and others praised Landsman as a crucial supporter of the mural and Black art projects since his days on City Council. At the unveiling, Landsman applauded the resilience of the artists and activists who have maintained and advocated for the mural and the marker.

“Most murals are on the side of buildings. … They don’t have to deal with vandalism,” Landsman said. “Every time there’s been an obstacle or barrier, the artists, Alandes and others have said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll come back. We’ll repaint it every single time.’”

Several artists and activists from Black Art Speaks and ArtsWave also delivered remarks at the unveiling. Artist Annie Ruth emphasized the importance of cherishing and elevating Black artists.

“So often our voices are diluted, categorized or lumped into broad terms like ‘Black’ or ‘Brown’ or ‘People of Color’ or any other acronym that might fit. But this mural was different,” Ruth said. “It was an opportunity to speak our truth loudly and unapologetically, Black and proud.”

Black Art Speaks also began the installation of 16 giant-letter sculptures across Cincinnati that will spell out “Black Lives Matter!” this year. The letters R and L have already been erected, and the exclamation point will be erected next month.

But Ruth also asked Cincinnati to remember that there’s more work to be done to reach a more equal and just city.

“Our work is far from over. We have not yet arrived,” Ruth said. “We continue to fight for our voices to be heard, for our stories to be seen, for our art to be given the space it deserves.”