We Shall Not Be Moved

2013 41' x 17'

Site: Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken (526 East MLK Blvd.)

Artists: 85 students from The Howard School and STEM School with lead artists Amanda Brazier, Rondell Crier and Judy Mogul

Partners: The Howard School of Academics and Technology, STEM School of Chattanooga, Champy’s Famous Fried Chicken, Tennessee Arts Commission

Description: Eighty-five STEM and Howard School students created We Shall Not Be Moved as tribute to the courage of Chattanooga sit-in participants and the legacy they created in 1960. The students studied the history and cultural impact of the sit-ins by looking at archival photographs and engaging in dialogue with sit-in participant Booker T. Scruggs. The participants learned firsthand about the determination and courage of the students, who also attended Howard School, in challenging segregation practices by sitting at the “whites-only” counter of a local diner in 1960. These workshops resulted in student generated design material, using Harlem Renaissance artist Jacob Lawrence as stylistic inspiration.

 A team of students and professional artists then collaged the students’ content to create the final mural design. Mark Making transferred the mural design onto a portable cloth substrate and held painting sessions with students and community members.

We Shall Not Be Moved is part of Mark Making’s MLK Boulevard Mural Series and was funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.