“I had a plan going into the project, but it completely changed the second I stepped up to the boards. They had been painted with words like ‘FREEDOM’, ‘diversify yourself’, and ‘I don’t understand how we can treat people differently based on the color of their skin,” and more. It felt unjust for me to cover up those words, those voices. So I wanted my mural to be my letter in response to those black voices. As a white woman, I want the black community to know that I am FOR them. I don’t want to silence them, and that I stand with them. I have no business saying that I understand their pain. But what I can say is that I’m not going anywhere, and that someone sees them and loves them, when it seems like the world is against them.”
Lauren Ashleigh