In honor of Martin Luther King and his profound legacy, Publix launched a communications campaign highlighting Atlanta locals who carry forward the torch of his ideals.
The creative centerpiece of this campaign holds great significance and is a first for Publix: a mural on the external wall at the East Lake store in Atlanta (2235 Glenwood Ave. SE, Atlanta).
The mural illustrates the impact and teachings of Dr. King through the personal experiences and interpretation of Atlanta artist N. Carlos J.
Publix said they partnered with Carlos not only because he expertly weaves powerful themes throughout his art, but also because of his passion for inspiring others and bringing people together.
When he first got the call, Carlos said, it was an unbelievable feeling.
“I felt honored Publix believed I could come up with delivering such an important message. They felt I was the type of person and artist to embody what they were trying to do to show community in Atlanta,” he said. “It’s like a legacy moment because now that it’s done, that’s a footprint that wont and can’t ever be taken away. I was able to do that and put my family on the wall. When you have your family flying in to see, stand in front of it, and understand the magnitude of what that means, it’s unbelievable.”
The mural, Carlos said, is very personal to him because it became personal during the process.
“It’s about legacy, but it became personal for me and was sort of like a story. The whole idea is about MLK and his legacy, but it’s also about what he left for all of us. To put my family into the mural was to illustrate what he did allow all of us to do what we’re doing, so I made it personal,” he said.
The mural, Carlos said, took him alongside two assistants, two weeks to complete.
Carlos said his inspiration for the mural was essentially Dr. King’s ideals and how those ideals still manifest in present day.
Additionally, he said the storyline of the mural starts off with the bird, whom is a spiritual representation of MLK.
“It’s (the bird) floating above us and everyone down below. It’s like in spiritual form, and it’s got the Nobel Peace Prize around its neck, looking down protecting us and giving us the light and still providing those ideologies and fearlessness that MLK had,” he said.
The next part of the mural, Carlos said, are stories personal to him. After the bird, comes Carlos’ father.
“He (his father) embodied some of those same ideals that MLK pushed down to us, so I have him there,” he said. “Then there’s another version of him next to it where he’s holding, nurturing, and protecting his child giving his child information that the next generation will take and push forward as well.
Following his dad, the next image on the mural people will see is Carlos and his daughter.
“I’m basically doing the same thing that my dad did in the mural. I’m pushing those messages and ideologies that will help her in her lifetime,” he said. “I have a key in my hand and I’m unlocking her mind and heart and passing that information into her. The key also symbolizes the key that they used to lock MLK in jail in Birmingham.”
Carlos said there’s a lot of symbolism and thoughts going throughout the mural. The next part of the mural is the “hands of the older generation”, according to Carlos.
“The hands of the older generation are nurturing the seedlings of the younger generation, so that’s when you see the water. The water dropped into the plant so they can grow and then because of that, you see the child that’s holding the balloons, symbolizing that child can fly and the sky’s the limit because of all this love, protection, and community,” he said. “All of that has been passed along to this child, and then it just keeps going. The child becomes this adult, and you can see inside the adult figure standing on top of the mountain and that’s again showing that the sky’s the limit and anything’s possible. You can do whatever you want.”
Furthermore, the flowers, he said around her are just like spirits.
“The spirits are full of love being passed along throughout that storyline. That’s the ideologies and the love in the building and community that’s being passed along throughout the story. So, it keeps going along and the girl receiving love is passing it along,” he said. “You can see the hands coming out of their minds passing along knowledge and love, that’s when you see the books, and this goes into the next member of the community.”
The next generation is becoming an adult, according to Carlos.
“The last part is the bird flying forward and it becomes another MLK, another person who now will be doing the same thing, will do exactly what he was doing when he was here, and what he left behind. That bird now will be able to do the same thing,” he said.
Additionally, Carlos said he wanted the mural to motivate, inspire, and push people forward who may never even meet nor see him.
“I thought it was important to make it personal and make it about family, love, and history because someone who I’m never going to ever see is going to witness this and going to mean something to them and that’s really the whole legacy part of it for me,” he said. “It’s like I’m leaving something behind that’s going to bless me with my art.”
For more information, visit https://blackcommunity.publix.com/mlk/.
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