Lakisha Blount ’04 is one of four African American alumni of Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design who participated in the creation of a Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Asheville over the summer.

Blount painted the letter “M,” with imagery evoking a mountain range, an Appalachian quilt and an African kente cloth. 

More than 20 artists came together on Sunday, July 19, 2020, to create a Black Lives Matter mural in the heart of downtown Asheville coordinated by The Asheville Area Arts Council.

Additional images taken by David Huff and Reggie Tidwell, courtesy of Asheville Arts Council. Photos above include former WCU faculty member Marie T. Cochran, a lead artist on the project; WCU alumni LaKisha Blount ’04, Rahkie Mateen ’08, Kela Hunt ’98 and Trey Miles ’98;  Broderick Flanigan of Athens, Georgia; and Faustine McDonald, daughter of late WCU alumna Victoria Casey-McDonald ’73 MAEd ’78.