DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Residents are raising money to update a Des Moines mural with the names of more than 150 people who have been shot to death in the city in the last 20 years.
Residents have raised more than $1,000 of the $4,000 needed to update the mural on the Creative Visions community center building, the Des Moines Register reported . Half of the mural features negative imagery, like the grim reaper and a coffin, while the other half features positive images, including families and college graduates.
Robert Rushing approached the King Irving neighborhood association with the idea of updating the mural.
“These murders, they really touch a lot of people,” said Rushing, 27. “I only feel it’s right to have their memories carried on.”
The mural was last updated when it was painted in the late 1990s, fundraising organizers said. Organizers hope updating the mural will honor those who’ve died and be a reminder for those thinking about using guns.
“Maybe it will influence someone else to think before doing something that cannot be undone,” said Jason Zilk, a member of the neighborhood association.
The mural will be redesigned by a graffiti artist who goes by the name Asphate. The 36-year-old said he wants to create a piece similar to the current mural that highlights the area’s struggles as well as the virtue of the area’s residents.
The center’s CEO, state Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, will approve the final design. His son was shot and killed amid gang-related activity more than two decades ago.
Organizers hope to begin painting Friday and expect the project to take about two weeks.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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