Three murals will be unveiled Thursday to honor the legacy of several residents of the McDougall Street Corridor, a historically black neighborhood in Windsor.
The Essex County Black Historical Research Society commissioned artists DERKZ, Jermaine Baylis and Ed Irmen to complete the work.
Baylis is working on a mural featuring Alton C. Parker, the city’s first black police officer.
He said he hopes not only to honor history, but to move forward with his play.
“The past is very important, but a lot of the past has been repeated over and over again, which is great and I think it’s good for the youth, but I’m also keen to look to the future,” he said Windsor Morning‘s Nav Nanwa.
That’s what everything is worth. -Jermaine Baylis
“So I’m really, you know, an advocate for black business and community building.”
Baylis said working on the project made him feel a connection to the community in which he worked.
“I really feed off that,” he said. “As I paint, I see a lot of local people who grew up in the area.”
There were also moments when people stopped to talk to him and he even had descendants of Parker who shared their pride with him.
‘A gentleman came by and had someone on the phone. And so, you know, I go to his car and it’s actually his granddaughter and she’s all emotional and she’s crying and she’s like, ‘I love seeing the progress and this is my grandfather,'” Baylis said.
“That’s what it’s worth.”
This isn’t the first public art Baylis has worked on in Windsor – he’s also done a black history mural in Sandwich Towne.
He said he’s grown a lot in the years since.
“Now that I’m older I appreciate it more and I understand the importance of all the people I’ve had the luxury of painting,” he said.
“Now it’s a different perspective. I really want to brighten up this mural. I wanted it to stand out. I wanted people to see it from the street or I wanted to get their attention. Like using really bright colors. And I wanted to tell a little bit of a story.”
Baylis said he spoke to scores of passers-by and everyone seemed happy with the idea and his work.
“There was a lot to learn and people were asking who it was who I was painting,” he said.
“It was nothing but positivity that I experienced.”
The murals also feature McDougall Street Corridor residents Fred Thomas, James L. Dunn and Ada Kelly Whitney.
The Essex County Black Historical Research Society received money for the murals from a $100,000 grant from Ontario’s Southwest Regional Tourism Organization.
“In addition to beautifying the district, the investment will also fund promotional materials, a video and a curriculum to promote greater awareness of the area and its history,” the society said in a press release.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians—from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community—see Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians should be proud of. You can read more stories here.
