Students who have passed through the English hallway of Chapel Hill High School have been able to witness a unique demonstration of creativity while watching the artistic process of Jermaine Powell and his creation of a new, impactful mural in the school.
Powell, the North Carolina Museum of Art’s most recent Artist in Residence, dedicated weeks at the school to illustrate a mural, titled The Great Authors, depicting various Black and African authors featured in the core English curriculum. Powell completed the mural on December 16.
Powell, who taught high school prior to his painting career, stressed the importance of representation, as well as visual creativity in a school building.
“You can feel the energy of the mural,” Powell said. “You can feel how much the artist cares.”
From left to right, the mural portrays Zora Neale Hurston, most known by students as the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God; Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart; James Baldwin, the highly influential civil rights activist and poet; Lorraine Hansberry of A Raisin in the Sun; and Toni Morrison, whose work is taught at almost every grade level throughout the English department. The very end of the wall exhibits a bird cage: an homage to Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Michael Irwin, English teacher and Director of the Arts Focus Academy, wrote a grant to fund the mural following the efforts of Black student leaders in the Youth Leadership Institute who challenged staff to promote representation within curricula around the school.
“Representation is important,” Irwin said. “It’s important for all students to feel like this is their school. A number of students had a lot of positive and complimentary comments to say when [Powell] was here painting.”
English teachers were asked to nominate prominent Black and African authors to showcase on the wall. Kimberly Jones, recently named the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund North Central Teacher of the Year, was another major collaborator in conceptualizing the mural.
“I think it’s just been wonderful for our students to watch an artist and process. I think whether or not students are familiar with the individual authors, the process has inspired a lot of students,” Jones said. “It’s really cool that we can bring something dynamic to this unit, and it’s also meaningful to the English hall.”
Students regularly stopped by the English hall to watch Powell at work, and many took to following him on various social media platforms.
“It was so amazing to see it unfold as I walked through the English department,” junior Halien Gaskin said.
“I love how it represents a bunch of major authors,” sophomore Jaden Harley said. “I like thinking through all the little details he added, especially the freedom of the bird from the cage. I notice something new every time I walk by.”
Irwin said that the Arts Focus department will commission more murals in the future, a tradition that started in the former Chapel Hill High building, where students regularly painted educational designs that added color and personality to the environment.
