From Staff Reports

Asheville City Councilwoman Sheneika Smith, along with the Asheville Area Arts Council and other community groups and leaders, “are coordinating a public art installation in Asheville’s central business district,” according to a June 23 report by Asheville television station WLOS (News 13). 

 The mural is conceived as a way to “galvanize solidarity and celebrate our collective movement towards addressing systemic issues locally,” News 13 noted.

Under the plan, each letter will be individually designed by African-American artists. “I think it’s gonna stir up a few more problems around town with people not agreeing with with what should happen, but I believe it’s a good thing to do,” Asheville resident Jack Price told the TV station.  

It “is planned to be a temporary project. Organizers say permanent projects have a longer approval process and this is meant to be a bridge until a decision is made about the Vance Monument,” News 13 reported.