MLK Mural at the Hale YMCA Reveal

Written by WINY: Muralist and artist, Emida Roller, of Putnam, was asked to create and lead the way to bring one of the thirty-nine planned MLK39: Racial Equity Tour murals to Putnam.

This project is a partnership between the organization Rise up for Arts and the Putnam Arts Council.

Roller said this is her third MLK39 Mural that she has taken part in.

“I’m really excited to beautify this spot but also send a message,” Roller told WINY. “It’s not just the beautification, but starting a conversation and also bringing attention to racial equity.”

She has done them in other cities and has done other projects since this particular mural has been talked about for over a year.

She was selected to take charge of this project after some of the local artists heard about it and asked to place an MLK39 Mural in Putnam. After all, they said they had a muralist living right in Town.

Roller says the project, MLK39 Murals, represents 39 murals, one for each year that Dr. Martin Luther King lived on Earth.

Mayor Barney Seney called the mural another project that Putnam can be proud of.

“This is a great thing for Putnam and the people of Putnam,” Mayor Seney told WINY. “It shows the community that we’re in – the volunteers, how we raise money, how we make things go. This is what Putnam is all about.”

Hale YMCA Executive Director Amanda Kelly said she is happy that the Hale YMCA was chosen for it to be hung on the outside of the facility, which is the back of the gymnasium wall, where everyone who drives by will see it.

The mural was painted in 15 parts with a total size of 12 feet high by 40 feet long. Each panel was glued into aluminum frames, making it portable in the event they would like to move it to different locations around Town.