Please join your neighbors March 4, from 1 – 3 pm at the Arlington Community Center (27 Maple Street) for an artist talk featuring the Banner Contest winners — Remi Antunes and Malik Harding — and enjoy perusing wares at a black-owned pop-up market for the public.
The Town of Arlington is celebrating the achievements of Black business owners and entrepreneurs this February with the installation of 6 new lightpole banners commemorating this theme. The designs were selected through the 2023 Black History Month Banner Contest. These banners join a collection created by other competition winners over the past four years, lining the length of Mass Avenue with colorful reminders of key moments and leaders in Black history.
Remi and Malik — both 10 years old — are committed social justice activists and have collaborated on creative projects before. “Our designs feature five banners that show very influential and historic Black business people from the 18th and 19th centuries, a time when slavery was just ending” they explain. “These leaders helped make it possible for other Black people to start businesses, which was something that was not easy to do especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.” The banners feature William Monroe Trotter, Eliza Ann Gardner, Robert Carter, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, and Prince Hall. The 6th banner bears the message: “Black Business is Trailblazing.”
The two artists explained their motivations their proposal: “As young Black leaders, we believe that being a part of the movement toward peace, justice and freedom inspires others to do the same. We know that we can create paths for other young leaders from all different backgrounds while helping our communities….We hope our banners get people thinking about the past, present and future of social justice, Black history and Black excellence.”
