‘Til victory is won
The downtown Little Rock community joined in the demonstrations that took place across the country last summer, when the police killing of George Floyd led to outrage against systemic racism faced by people of color in the United States.
Protesters of a variety of backgrounds carried signs, chanted slogans and shed tears at the Arkansas State Capitol and other downtown locations while participating in the ongoing battle for justice and equality.
“Downtown Little Rock became a central location for protesters to organize themselves for the peaceful fight,” said Jasmine Blunt, who, along with Kendrick Dunn, is co-founder of The Influence Media. “The protests did not only recognize the life of George Floyd. Protest organizers used their platform to educate protest attendees on the countless number of people of color who have been killed due to police brutality and to inform attendees about the injustices that people of color experienced back then and in America today.”
The Influence, which provides media services for small businesses and creatives, collaborated with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership to document the protests in a video titled “Lift Every Voice.”
The video features black-and-white photos of the protests by Little Rock photographers Jerryll Hall, Desmond Mitchell and Drew Ellis, along with local vocalist Levelle Davison’s rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Also known as “The Black National Anthem,” the song was written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, in 1899.
Dunn said using the talents of local people of color was important to capturing the authentic experience of the protests.
“We are that voice, the emotions that you see in the photos, the timbre that you hear in the artist’s voice,” he said. “Every person involved in the making of the video lived that moment and was able to capture it using their craft.”
He added that it felt liberating to be seen and heard when he and Blunt attended the demonstrations.
“For the first time as young adults, we made the decision on our own to be part of a civil-rights movement, representing the civil-rights leaders that came before us and the Black community as a whole,” Blunt said. “The downtown community’s response was more encouraging than anything else.”
The Influence worked with the DLRP to show that downtown Little Rock is a place where all people can bring about change, she said, adding that the video also countered messages that the protests were violent.
“The ‘Lift Every Voice’ campaign was not only created to bring awareness to racial injustice and police brutality, but also to inspire others to not be afraid to use their voices and platforms to fight against these injustices,” she said. “We made it a point to highlight that people from all walks of life came together to communicate one consistent message peacefully.”
She added that the creators used photos that captured the vulnerability of the protesters in hopes of conveying the feeling of standing up for justice.
“The nature of art documents the current state of society, and it can also tell you how free the people are,” Dunn said. “Visual communications such as ‘Lift Every Voice’ can send a message to the public that can bring awareness, understanding and action to the masses.”
That message is echoed in the John Lewis installation on Main Street, which was created by Little Rock photographer John David Pittman and pays homage to the congressman and civil-rights icon, who died in July. Pittman photographed Lewis when he visited Arkansas in 2018.
“At the time, I knew that it was important to make that portrait, as he was getting up in years,” Pittman said. “I really had no plan of what to do with it, but once he passed, I was overcome with a sense of need to share that with the community.”
Pittman contacted the DLRP to help facilitate the installation, which is temporary but may last indefinitely because of its sheltered location. The striking black-and-white portrait of Lewis stands in front of his quote, “We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters.”
“The image of the late congressman looking up and out with that message of hope, of continuing the work together to move forward as one people — I hope people can see that and take it to heart,” Pittman said.
The portrait is flanked by photos of Norel McAdoo and Victory Jackson of Little Rock, whom Pittman met during the protests.
“Congressman Lewis would have been the first one to tell you that you can’t do any of this work alone, so I felt it was important to have some of the younger generation on either side of him in that installation,” Pittman said. “So many people their ages are stepping up right now and are not only being fed up with the system but are also trying to battle it with love, and coming from such an amazing place.”
The protests left him with a mixture of raw emotions, he added. Although he felt anger and sadness for those who must battle injustice every day, along with guilt that he had not done more to help, he said he was inspired by the country’s growing awareness and passion for equality.
“All the protests have died down since last summer, but everything that was being protested last summer still exists today. Nothing has changed,” he said. “There’s much more work to be done, and we have to do it together.”
Public art that forces viewers to confront injustice helps spark difficult conversations that can bring about equality, he added.
“We’ll never achieve true equality until we’re all talking about it,” he said. “Art is the great conversation starter, and these are conversations that we have to have in this country if we want to progress, move forward and survive.”
He pointed to the colorful murals lining Seventh Street to the west of the Capitol as an example. The paintings are so eyecatching that passersby cannot help but talk about them and their justice-driven messages, he said. One mural, a larger-thanlife painting of Floyd, is featured in “Lift Every Voice.” Dunn said the grooves in the concrete below Floyd’s eye make it appear as though he is weeping.
“When we saw the image, it really shook us,” Dunn said. “What happened to Mr. Floyd was tragic and unacceptable, but when we saw that mural, we had a feeling he was looking down with tears of joy, telling us to march on.”