The City of Birmingham on Thursday afternoon unveiled a massive “Black Lives Matter” street mural ahead of Juneteenth on Friday.
Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, is recognized annually on June 19.
The Birmingham Black Lives Matter painting now runs alongside Railroad Park on First Avenue South in-between 16th and 17th Streets. The project began on Wednesday.
You can watch an aerial video of the completed mural below, courtesy of WVTM’s Fred Davenport:
On Friday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin shared a video message of hope, progress and unity in observance of Juneteenth.
Watch:
Birmingham knows the road to freedom. We also know that freedom is never really won, it is earned. That’s why today and every day we acknowledge the power #Juneteenth represents.
It’s the power of hope for an ailing world. Stand with us. pic.twitter.com/7qvdTkEO2R
— Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) June 19, 2020
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn