One of our long-term grantees Out Now in 2021 created a mural on the Stone Wall Tavern in Springfield. It is across the street from their office headquarters.
“The mural has three major sections. It seeks to answer to the question: what do you need in order to succeed in school. The project was the action and ending of the five month long process we undertook with staff and students from the Harvard Law School, where this question was asked of students across Massachusetts.
A large panel shows what school is like now: drab, the flowers on the predominant woman in the center don’t flourish, the books on the back of the student are oppressive, and there are caterpillars unable to transform all around. in the hallway, the lights are dim, the bathrooms are gendered, and on the far left the students head is on the desk (a pretty universal sign that something is wrong). Another part of the panel shows how things ‘could’ be. Flowers are flourishing on the students head because the intellect is stimulated. Books are relevant, bathrooms are not gendered and the trans flag is prominent. Caterpillars have transformed into butterflies that fly through the rainbow. The piece ends with a quote by Cece McDonald.” Holly Richardson, Out Now
