DAYTON — As community members around the Miami Valley continue the demand for change, a Dayton business has created a petition asking city leaders to allow for a permanent Black Lives Matter mural on a downtown street.
>> Rep. Turner visits WPAFB; discusses possibility of Space Force coming to the area
The Heart of Mercantile Exchange, located in the Oregon District, has received almost 5,000 signatures since creating the petition.
One local man, Michael Melko, told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that he hadn’t heard about the program but planned to sign the petition as soon as he could.
“But that seems in character for Heart Mercantile and the city of Dayton’s philosophy as a whole,” Melko said.
>> City of Trotwood fighting to keep Walgreens from closing
The petition is part of a larger effort known as change.org. There are nearly 51 other cities petitioning for the cause as well. Dayton’s petition sponsored by Hearth of Mercantile Exchange is one of the largest.
Another community member said he likes the idea of a black lives matter mural but wonders if it will gain approval.
“It’s a sign, when people see Black Lives Matter on the ground, it will let people know there’s still positive going, still going,” Lionel Berti of Dayton said.
>> Lawsuit filed over COVID-19 testing at Montgomery County Jail
“Exactly, your life matters, his life matters, everybody’s life matters, you only get one.”
The city told News Center 7 that it encourages and supports moving forward with a mural program that celebrates this historic civil rights movement, engages the community and celebrates the values of inclusivity and diversity.
City leaders also said that the law department is not currently recommending approval of a mural on the pavement of a city street due to traffic and public forum concerns.
>> Coronavirus: Second scheduled Dayton Flyers football game cancelled
Mayor Nan Whaley offered a statement Tuesday evening regarding the proposal of the mural.
“It is exciting to see all of the recent energy around celebrating black lives and black artists in Dayton. While we are not able to approve painting on the right-of-way, the city will support other ways of highlighting black artists’ work and black people’s contributions to Dayton through public art. Many groups have suggested ideas for new murals, and we are grateful that the Downtown Dayton Partnership has been willing to help facilitate a process to ensure that black artists’ contributions to Dayton are more visible and that our community’s values are clearly on display through art,” Whaley said.
Still, residents of Dayton tell us they’re working for the day a mural won’t be needed to remind people of basic ideas.
Cox Media Group
