COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new mural adorns the side of a building on Main St. in downtown Columbia.
Ija Charles, the 24-year-old artist, is behind the new masterpiece that was officially unveiled on Thursday.
"To be able to paint something in South Carolina where the residents are why I am the artist I am today… I just never want to leave here I want to keep painting the town," Charles said.
Charles has been creating works of art in Columbia for several years now, including a recent work in Cayce.
Her latest artwork is in the form of a gigantic mural at the corner of Washington and Main St. commemorating the Black Business District that occupied parts of Washington St. in the early 20th century.
Dr. Donaldson is the Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research in Columbia.
"In so many ways, this mural helps to chronicle a minute missing, a deleted, a demolished chapter in our history," Dr. Bobby Donaldson said at the unveiling.
Her art depicts the place where African Americans could go to see business owners who looked like them in the time of segregation. Charles was able to sit down with the owner of a beauty parlor opened in 1938 to talk about what Washington St. was like.
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"One thing she did tell me was never let up, always do the best you possibly can, it will make you the best entrepreneur that you possibly can be and I took that with me when I spoke to her about what life was like in the building. It's just very empowering to know that history that I never knew before," Charles shared.
Dr. Donalds said, "So now, when we walk down Main St. in the Columbia SC 63 walking tour, very often we would point to what was on Washington St. Now we stand in this plaza flanked by the words 'hope' and we show them what is, what has been recorded, what has been documented, what has been preserved in continuing these stories."
This mural is in partnership with the City of Columbia, One Columbia and others focused on showing the city's history through art.