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New mural at JACOA celebrates East Jackson history

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Jackson Area Council on Alcohol (JACOA) enjoys being a member of the East Jackson community, and director Barry Cooper and his staff wanted to somehow celebrate that community with their building.

They were able to do that by being awarded a Love Your Block grant from the City of Jackson and being able to commission a mural on the front wall of their building, facing Chester Street and their neighbor across the street, Parkview Prep School.

On Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the fruit of that labor, which was mainly done by artist, Juan Barroso.

Barroso said growing up, he never planned on being an artist. He first went to college majoring in accounting, but like many who initially major in accounting, he was ready to change his major.

“I told my parents that I want to be an artist, and so I began taking classes that helped me develop as an artist,” Barroso said.

Developing the mural is out of his comfort zone because he works mainly in pottery and designing smaller objects like mugs and vases.

“Fortunately, I work on a grid system, and I was able to do the same thing here, so just a bigger grid,” Barroso said.

Now the front wall of JACOA is a celebration of the history of East Jackson and some of the people that impacted the area over the past couple hundred years.

“Over the last two months, we have watched as Juan transformed a blank canvas into a vibrant work of art,” Cooper told the gathered group between the sounds of vehicles driving by in the middle of a work day. “Working from left to right, Juan spent 225 hours recreating life like images that appear to jump off of the canvas.”

Those images include Austin Merry, Gill Scott-Heron, Carl Perkins, Isaac Lane and Shirlene Mercer. Also on the mural are depictions of Montgomery Hall (the original location of JACOA), Lane College, the Illinois Central 382 train engine and the counter where the Lane College “Freshman Four” fought for civil rights.

Some of the images are depicted in black and white. Others are in color. Barroso had a simple explanation when asked about that.

“The images you see up there are based on the images I had available to me,” Barroso said. “So if someone or something is up there in black and white, that means I didn’t have a color picture of them.”

City officials including Mayor Scott Conger and Love Your Block coordinator Abby Palmer were on hand for the unveiling along with family members of some of the people depicted.

County Commissioner Luther Mercer, husband of the late Shirlene Mercer, said he was happy with how the mural turned out.

“There’s a school right across the road, and after I learned about the people that are a part of this, I hope that the students will look across and ask who the people are,” Barroso said. “And when they find out who they are, I hope they research them and find out how each of them made an impact.

“And if that somehow inspires the children who will see this, then I’m glad to be a part of this project.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news