I am an American
We are One Nation
Each week, this series will introduce you to an exceptional American who unites, rather than divides, our communities. In this installment, read about Mawia Elawad, who uses art to help unite her community in Rochester, New York.
Each week, this series will introduce you to an exceptional American who unites, rather than divides, our communities. To read more about the American profiled here and more average Americans doing exceptional things, visit onenation.usatoday.com.
For Mawia Elawad, a conversation between a neighborhood resident and a police officer while helping paint a community mural would make her work worth it. Elawad, a 21-year-old Alfred University senior from Rochester, New York, is part of Art Force 5, a student group providing an outlet for residents to express their emotions through communal art projects that touch major U.S. issues like poverty, race and police-community relations.
“We’re giving people the chance to have their voices heard,” she said, adding that the projects are focused on “messages that help (community members) highlight their own self-esteem and realize the strength they have within themselves.”
The projects often include tiles that community members can paint to form larger murals, to be displayed at community events or exhibits to demonstrate
peaceful unity.
The group did another project where community members could hang black or blue ribbons, to memorialize both the black lives and the police lives lost.
Art Force 5 started as an outreach program related to an Alfred University class called “Drawn to Diversity.” Students hold workshops for elementary school children, acting as “superheroes” to show that anyone can be a “hero” and deliver powerful community messages.
At a Black Lives Matter rally in Rochester last year, Art Force 5 offered boards with the words, “Why” and “What Now?,” where residents could jot down their thoughts. The group showed the boards to Rochester police officers after the rally to continue the discussion about communitypolice relations.
Elawad and Dan Napolitano, Alfred’s director of student activities who heads the Drawn to Diversity class, are working together to seek grants to start an Art Force 5 team in New York City.
“We are not a remedy, we are a reflection,” Elawad said. “This is for (the community), and it’s all about their voices.”