SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If you drive down J Street in downtown Sacramento, you will see a murals painted on boarded up storefronts. It's a stark difference from what many of the stores looked like last week before vandalism and looting rocked parts the downtown area.
“Obviously a lot of downtown and many areas have been looted due to protests, which is very unfortunate,” artist Lillian Southwick said.
With paintbrush in hand, artists remind people who walk by to take a photo with the murals, the message of racial inequality that protesters have been trying to get across, but often time gets drowned out due to looters.
“We wanted to make them look peaceful and presentable and show that we are all here together we just want to make things better regardless of what happened,” Southwick said.
Many artist didn’t want to go on camera and said they want the art to speak for itself.
Kimberly Prince owns Nekter Juice Bar in Midtown and posted a call of action on social media asking for more artists to display their talents on boarded up stores.
“We are just going to meet and try to find these businesses and matched them with the artist that we have talked to,” Prince said.
Prince hopes bringing artist and store owners together will not just bring beauty to the city, but continue the conversation of racial injustice in our society and why black lives matter.
"Using this space as a message of hope, a place to start these conversations that are difficult and to be a positive side of businesses being boarded up,” Prince said.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Monica Coleman.
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