Thirkell unveils murals

By CHARLES SIMMONS

Staff Writer

“Hush your mouth!” and “Amen!” were some of the calls from the excited parents and community residents sitting in the audience at Thirkell Elementary School recently when the entire school turned out to celebrate the unveiling of four giant murals painted by a group of student artists reflecting on their vision of a wholesome Detroit.

A family of organizations that included the Boggs Center; a College of Creative Studies student organization; Black Artists Researching Trends; and the Detroit Public Schools’ Department of School Transformation were involved in the production.  Previous student murals at Cooper and King Elementary schools are part of this mural message movement. 

Numerous Thirkell teachers and administrators led by Principal Dr. Clara Smith gave their hands and hearts for many hours throughout the semester.  The support group also included a design company that did the digital transformation of the art to the large murals. 

At the opening, there were stellar performances by combinations of teachers and groups of classes who touched the listeners’ hearts with singing, a dramatic presentation and instrumental renditions.

Photo by LINDA RICE   Schoolchildren, teachers and community members overlook the festivities that accompanied the unveiling of four giant murals at Thirkell Elementary School.

Following a talk by Smith, a veteran of 28 years of service to Detroit youth, the crowd poured outside to view the artwork adorning the building and to watch the bands and cheerleaders.  Young artists told the crowd about how they wanted their murals to make a statement about their role in creating positive and beautiful neighborhoods for the city they love.  A delegation of Northern High School artists and their quick-time marching band with steps as fancy at those of the African-American colleges also participated. 

But the Thirkell youth were not to be outdone.  The little folk strutted their stuff and twirled their batons like the champions they are while neighbors and passersby stopped to watch and listen and wave their praises:  “You go, girl!”

Through all of the excitement and joy, the person trying so hard to avoid the limelight and microphones was the one responsible for so much:  art teacher Linda Rice.  Otherwise known as a ball of fire, the teacher with a heart as large as the Great Lakes was everywhere.  One minute she was upstairs directing student camera operators from the balcony, then she was back on the main floor taking photos.  Outside, she was dashing across the street to get a better angle of the band while stopping here and there with a stunning smile and a big hug for the visitors.  Even before this event, Rice already had her well-disciplined students erupting with creativity that was demonstrated everywhere in the Thirkell building on 14th Street near West Grand Boulevard.  The school serves both the Virginia Park and Northwest Goldberg communities.

After all the youthful and contagious excitement at the school, where does the community go from here?  A few blocks away in Northwest Goldberg, other residents and their youth are cleaning up a century-old industrial site on Saturday mornings to transform it into a community garden and recreation space.  They are collecting rocks and bricks to paint messages that say, “Stop the dumping!”   Around the corner on 14th is the historic King Solomon Baptist Church, the former community center where Malcolm X and Thurgood Marshall spoke generations ago.  The church is the center of attraction today by historians from around the nation.  Let the naysayers chatter endlessly in the daily media about the hopelessness of urban blight or that our kids won’t or can’t do right.  But as the lady with the hat said in the back row, “Hush your mouth!”