Mid City Times

Arts Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Public Art program are set to dedicate the East Rosedale Monument Project on February 1. The event will begin with a reception at 2 p.m. at the Ella Mae Shamblee Library, located at 1062 Evans Ave.

The artwork, created by Christopher Blay, highlights the significant role transit buses played in the civil rights movement from the 1950s through the 1970s. By transforming a vintage transit bus into public art, Blay connects national struggles for equal rights and justice to local history. The installation aims to preserve this history and engage viewers in discussions about which stories are remembered in public spaces.

Inside the bus shell, engraved panels tell stories of those who protested segregation policies and fought for justice and equality in Fort Worth. This project also serves as a reminder of lost historic buildings in one of America's oldest African American neighborhoods. Blay stated, “By placing this monument to the struggle for equality in full view of the city, and highlighting its connection to that very cause, we not only recognize the Evans neighborhood’s connection to that struggle but also place a marker to where we’ve been, and where we are going.”

Additionally, April Pelton, Tarrant County Youth Poet Laureate for 2023, contributed a poem displayed on an electronic screen within the monument:

"My Southside, Our Community

A place abounding in love,

From the people around us to the skies above.

Where the smell of soul fills your nose,

And goodness are the seeds we sow.

This one street is connected,

Many others beautifully intersected.

For the community here is proud and bold

With inspiring stories deserving to be told."

The installation serves as both an artistic endeavor and a historical marker aimed at sparking conversations about justice and equality.