Skip to main content

On the Wall


 

As I sifted through photographs the other day, this one from February jumped out. 


Taken at the East Columbia Branch of the Howard County Library, it’s probably the last photo I have taken in a public place “in the before times.” I was probably checking out a stack of books to augment our classroom science table. As I went to get in line I noticed a new mural. 

“Well, this is new,” I thought, and snapped a picture. “Maybe there’s a story in this.”

Well, that was a while ago, eh? 

I have long since returned all those classroom books. Memories of being able to pop in and noodle around at the East Columbia Branch (my favorite) feel but happy dreams these days. 

But I was still curious about the mural. When did it get there? What prompted its creation? Who was the artist?

This week Christie Lassen, Director of Communications and Partnerships at Howard County Library System, was kind enough to put me in touch with Suki Lee, the Branch Manager at the East Columbia Branch. Here’s what I learned.

It turns out that the mural was quite new when I spotted it. My photo is dated February 15th.  Here is a photo from artist Anson Asaka’s Instagram feed dated February 4th.


The process for the creation of the mural began within the East Columbia Branch community in August of 2019. From Ms. Lee:

A forum was held at the East Columbia Branch in August 2019. We asked the participants - "What gives you Pride in the community?"

The artist was present at the forum and created a visual representation based on the verbal feedback.

The mural is about "Community".

Diversity is represented by the individuals on the bridge.

The bridge symbolizes the connection between the communities and its ties to the library and Columbia.

Neighboring schools are displayed as logos on the students' clothing.

One thing I love about this mural is how the image of Columbia’s iconic People Tree is seen prominently even though it physically does not exist in immediate proximity to the location. It’s a statement, I think. We feel it everywhere in the community where there is diversity, connection, pride in who we are.

Mr. Asaka describes himself as a self-taught visual artist. He is a lawyer for the Baltimore NAACP. Here we have again another great example of how the arts can be combined in many kinds of life paths. You can be an astronaut/scientist who plays the flute. You can be an attorney who’s a mural artist who works with communities. Don’t let your parents talk you out of those arts courses, kids. 

The Howard County Library System does a particularly good job at involving the public in programs and experiences within each branch. When there are construction and improvement projects the community is always a part of the equation. The East Columbia Branch was most recently reopened after renovatations in 2018. Perhaps this particular wall was a piece of the long-term plan for including community voices.

I like that.

As you might expect, as the year draws to a close the Friends and Foundation of the Howard County Library System is making their pitch for ongoing support for library programs, which have been mightily augmented during the pandemic. Take a look at what they have been doing and make a donation if you can. 

https://www.friendshcls.org/


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: We Are Not Entitled

  A college student went missing. His family and friends were distraught. The community was encouraged to be on the lookout and spread the word.  Days passed.  They must have been agonizing days for those who cared about the missing student. Thoughts that foul play had been involved cannot have been far from their thoughts.  Then, at last, the student was found. Alive. The news was shared with the public.  So. Much. Relief. A family had been reunited with their child. Even though we know that life is complicated, I think it is okay to accept this as a happy ending and leave it at that.  But the world of social media says no. For every expression of joy at the news came questions and even judgement. It became clear to me that some folks felt entitled to an explanation. They wanted the backstory. It’s as though they felt that, by enlisting the help of the public on social media, the authorities now owed them all the details. Television dramas often weave curr...
2 comments
Read more

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more