Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Members of the City of Buffalo Arts Commission were joined by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and other local officials and groups to unveil a special mural at the entrance of Broderick Park to celebrate the park's Underground Railroad heritage.
The mural, titled "Road to Freedom", depicts a courageous Harriet Tubman and a female child crossing the wilderness of North America. Tubman is the American abolitionist and social activist, who's best known as the "conductor" of the Underground Railroad.
"Broderick Park is of great importance to the cause of liberty, and the rights of each human to live without being in bondage," said Mayor Brown during an unveiling ceremony on Thursday. "This public art initiative continues our commitment here in the City of Buffalo to increase in Buffalo's inventory of works of art, in neighborhoods, and in parks city-wide. It's also part of the city's ongoing effort to address equity and inclusion, and make Buffalo a more just place for all of us."
Aritst Gino Morrow II was one of two artists selected to create a world class memorial at the park, as part of a $400,000 public art initiative that Mayor Brown spearheaded with capital bond funds.
"The piece of artwork on the wall behind us, that I was privileged to be inspired and create, it was really an internal conflict that manifested in the form of my understanding and learning of Harriet Tubman, which was a part of her conflict," said Morrow during Thursday's unveiling. "It had a lot to do with the juxtaposition of conflict or opposites, so you have young and old, you have confident and fearful, you have stormy weather and you have a bright, vibrant future. ... You have a lot of contrasting imagery taking place, and so I really wanted to tell the story that a lot of people could relate to, and yet, it was very specific to our struggle as black people or African Americans here in America, without necessarily having to over-impose ideas that we've been accustomed to seeing in pieces from the past."
As part of the public art initiative, Mayor Brown invited community stakeholders to participate in a survey that assisted in the commissioning of artists to create a series of public art pieces at Broderick Park. There is also set to be a sculpture created by Buffalo-based visual artist James Cooper III in the near future.
The mural is part of a "World Class Memorial" at Broderick Park, and continues Mayor Brown's over $11 million investment in the National landmark site.
Hear more from Thursday's unveiling ceremony in the player below:
