Black Lives Matter Murals

Downtown Raleigh, NC

The following images are of murals and street art in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, crafted by various artists, creators, and makers on brick and plywood. While made of various materials with different styles, these pieces of community-generated art all illustrate and amplify the important message that Black Lives Matter. Here, Slow looking is coupled with the murals to equip us with the opportunity to experience greater intentionality in sitting with these images, their messages, and the lived realities that they reflect and convey by slowly viewing the entirety of the mural and art.

 Slow looking with BLM Murals

Slow looking was developed by Cogapp Labs - where they identify that the application is “A relaxing full-screen immersive experience." Cogapp further expresses: “This relaxing full-screen immersive experience will slowly show your chosen image in detail. It takes a few rejuvenating minutes to complete, best enjoyed without distractions.” But how can Slow looking give us an opportunity to sit with images and art that was created with temporary materials with messages that carry a long and painful history and remind us how that history and socio-political inequalities are still present and dangerous today? The following images are from various artists, creators, and makers and their murals and street art in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The Slow looking experience equips us with a greater intentionality in sitting with these images, their messages, and the lived realities that they reflect and convey by slowly viewing the entirety of the mural and art. As Cogapp suggests, view and experience these images without distractions. But instead of passively observing this immersive experience, pay attention to what you are seeing, thinking, and feeling. How do these images surprise, shock, challenge, ignite you?

 Mural of Protestors by @MadebyAleix

Mural in downtown Raleigh, NC of a group of people with masks and signs.

Artist: @MadebyAleix

Date: 2021-01-06

 CVS + 2020 African American Cultural Festival

CVS in The Raleigh Building at 200 Fayetteville St, Raleigh, NC 27601 with a mural recognizing the 2020 African American Cultural Festival.

Artist: Artist: ELSE 2020

Date: 2021-01-06

 Jaki Shelton Green Quote on The Mahler Building

Mural on The Mahler Building in downtown Raleigh, NC reading: "Art is one way for people to examine, dismantle, take apart, rip open the seams, and find where the truth will set them free" - Jaki Shelton Green.

Date: 2021-01-06

 "Hate Stop" at Kimbrell’s

A mural on Kimbrell's Furniture in downtown Raleigh, NC at 210 Fayetteville St, Raleigh, NC 27601.

Date: 2021-01-06

 Signs down/going up

Mural and street art pieces coming up/going down in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Date: 2021-01-06

 Multipanel Mural by Julio Sanchez and a team, according to Raleigh Magazine

Mural in downtown Raleigh, NC that reads, from left to right: "SAY THEIR NAMES," "VOTE," "BLACK LIVES MATTER," "VOTE, VOTE, VOTE, VOTE," "NO JUSTICE NO PEACE," "I CAN'T BREATHE."

Date: 2020-06-03

 The System is Backwards

Mural in downtown Raleigh, NC reading: "BLM. The system is backwards. Rebuild the world for the meek."

Date: 2021-01-06

 Barricades at the Capitol

Lastly, a Slow Looking experience of the Barricades at the Capitol is included. As you view this image, pay attention to what tensions this image, and the reality of blocked-access, arise.

Date: 2021-01-06

 Teaching Tolerance Guiding Questions

Following Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards, reflect on these questions after viewing and experiencing the Slow looking images.


Identity How is identity and culture explored and addressed in these murals and pieces of street art?

Diversity What does diversity mean to you? How are diverse identities, perspectives, and identities represented in these images?

Justice How do these images address, challenge, and confront unfairness, social inequities, systemic discrimination?

Action How do these murals and pieces of street art reveal of your own personal responsibility to actively work against injustice, discrimination, and racism?


Artists across the country and world have used art to raise their voice. How will you use your voice and amplify the voices of those who are most impacted by injustice, discrimination, and racism?
For educators, please explore the Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework to learn more about these standards and how to implement them in your classroom and teaching.

 Closing remarks

These Slow Looking image opportunities are offered as an accompaniment to the important work being done by organizations such as the George Floyd And Anti-Racist Street Art Database and Save the Boards to Memorialize the Movement (twitter: @STB2MTM). Many of these images were submitted to the George Floyd And Anti-Racist Street Art Database, and I encourage you to visit their database and to please consider sharing your photographs of Black Lives Matter and Anti-Racist murals with this database and archive project.


If you created one of the following murals and/or pieces of street art, please contact me at kvdowns@ncsu.edu so I can ensure you are fully credited with your work.


Please visit the following sites to learn more about the Black Lives Matter murals in Downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Black Lives Matter Murals In Raleigh!" by Luke Keeler

"Messages in Murals" by Jane Porter

"Raleigh Restaurants Show Solidarity With Protestors Through Powerful Art Murals" by Jenn Rice

"Downtown Raleigh Public Art" by Downtown Raleigh Alliance












Kelsey Dufresne