Duval County

Art designed to spark conversation about injustice in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Faces stand out from the shades of blue painted on the building at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and 18th Street.

The people’s names aren’t known on the same scale as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Shawana Brooks, founder of the 6 Ft. Away Gallery told Action News Jax, “People still don’t even know those peoples’ stories or have no visualization.”

She said the faces share the story of a Jacksonville community victimized by violence.

“Knowing this is a predominantly Black neighborhood, we wanted to change the narrative that sometimes people have of what I call a fictional area of the northwest side of Jacksonville,” Brooks said.

In 2012, Action News Jax reported when 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot and killed over playing loud music outside a local gas station.

Davis is one of the victims who appears on the ‘Injustice in Jacksonville’ mural.

“We know there needs to be more space for people to express that trauma and that hurt and to be able to heal themselves,” Brooks said.

When the mural is completed, it will contain seven faces.

“We’re trying to do our best to use these seven individuals as symbolism,” Brooks said.

According to Brooks, the project is part of a larger movement called “Color Jax Blue,” aimed at emphasizing the impact of Black votes.

“Remind our community and our specific neighborhood that they have a power as a collective,” Brooks said of the movement’s mission.

She added, “It’s about the future and it’s also about the past, but it’s about right now.”