Students at Mobile County Training School are commemorating their community’s history with a special mural that pays tribute to Africatown. Artist and MCPSS graduate Enrique Lopez created the mural to enhance the refurbished MCTS library.

The project was envisioned as an effort to spark students’ attention and to encourage further study about Africatown, according to Principal James Patterson. TaShayla Robinson, the school’s media specialist, spearheaded the mural project, with input from Mr. Patterson.

The school is thankful to Cleon and Angela Jones, MCTS alumni, and to Dr. Reginald Crenshaw, District 3 Representative on the Mobile County Board of School Commissioners, for sponsoring this project.

Mobile County Training School held an unveiling ceremony on August 28. The mural gives students "a sense of knowing where they come from," Dr. Crenshaw said after the ceremony. "Along with academic education, a visual like that mural is important."

Artist Lopez, who also attended the ceremony, said he was gratified to see how students, teachers and school visitors reacted to the finished product. "After seeing the way it just touched everybody when the mural was revealed ... it just really showed the importance of it," he said.

Watch a video from the mural unveiling here, courtesy of mcpssTV.