“Let The Healing Begin – Racial Reconciliation and Restoration.”

Click HERE for a statement addressing the “Love Your Enemy” Mural (Mpls Police Chief Arradondo and protester hugging) Mural, Black Voices & Artists, & Apology

Community candlelight vigil and mural reveal. Friday July 24, 8pm-11pm

Come join us at the Lake St Kmart parking lot as we host a candlelight vigil for our neighborhood, city and country. The evening will feature ambient music, candles, lighting of a 6,000 square foot mural wall and drum jam finale. Note: this is not a political movement/event. The hope is that it is a simple event to reflect on the trauma of this summer and hope for healing and a better future.

Organizers: Source MN

Source has served at-risk populations on East Lake Street for 25 years, including homeless youth, trafficking victims, those with addictions, immigrants, and families. Source’s Community and Resource Center, the Fallout Urban Art Center and FAI Co-op, were established in 2001 and are just a few blocks north of Lake Street and Nicollet Ave.

In response to the trauma and the practical needs our neighbors were experiencing following George Floyd’s murder and the destruction of much of our neighborhood, Source MN hosted a month of prayer, serving and art. One hundred tons of fresh produce and diapers, 10,000 homeless meals, and 100 bikes were given out. Additional events included a 7 day, 24 hour prayer vigil, prayer walk/march, music from local congregations, a boarded window mural and photo art exhibit and 6,000 sq ft #LakeStreetPrayerWall. This all took place over the course of 30 days centered around the Nicollet and Lake Street Kmart parking lot.

#LakeStreetPrayerWall Theme:

The theme of the month and the wall is “Let the healing begin – racial reconciliation and restoration.” The mural, which covers the south and east walls of the Lake Street Kmart and is comprised of boards that had been on Lake Street area businesses, is 6,000 square feet and features over a dozen artists and crews. Over 1,000 square feet of the wall is filled with community and puzzle murals where over 100 individuals and youth from the community participated. The project drew from neighborhood, local metro and national artists (Oregon, Chicago and Newark, NJ) in order to represent a variety of perspectives.

A call to artists was publicized for submissions at the beginning of June and the hope was to get artists that reflected the ethnic mix of the local community.

Over 75% of the artists were people of color (including Black, Hispanic, and Native American). Additionally, more than 100 youth and individuals from the community participated, representing a wide mixture of races working together in unity. Artist were encouraged to portray past strife and injustices in the background and also show the future hope for change (as if an individual taking a future photo on an iPhone).

Thank you to all the artist and volunteers who worked to make this happen. We had a modest budget and most the artists paid for their own traveling expenses or organized their own GoFundMe to make this project possible. Thank you to the Lake Street Sherwin Williams for your donation of paint and supplies. And thank you to the many businesses who donated their window boards as we pass them along to Urban Home Works for low income housing projects.