Painted in August of 2020, the idea behind the mural is to promote unity, education, human connection, and well as promote a positive call to action in the community after the murder of George Floyd.

Lettering Mural Design
The mural tells the story of brutality towards African Americans in the US, especially down South. Heavily inspired by Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" song and Daft Punk “Human After All” song. Our hope is that the mural educates as well as provokes thoughts that challenge our current norm and our interaction with one another or a specific group of people. 

Lettering Direction Emmanuel Wisdxm
Illustration Design Eric Bussart
Artists Emmanuel Wisdxm & Eric Bussart

The typography and shapes are designed purposely to reflect the abstract connection in the human race…The typography is purposely designed in uppercase to represent the boldness of the statement. Letter shapes mimic the community surroundings (i.e buildings etc.). The overall type design illustrates the complexity (interlocking with one another) of human society.”

The poplar trees depicted in this design draw inspiration from the Heart Wrenching classic rendition of "Strange Fruit" by Nina Simone. The song depicts the horrors of a post-slavery America. With powerful poetic imagery, she depicts the victims of lynching as ‘Strange Fruit’ hanging from ‘poplar trees’. By using the imagery of the poplar tree leaves and flowers, we are drawing a parallel between the unjust murder of African Americans by police to the lynch mobs of the distant past. This subtle use of iconography gives a greater historical context to the plight of African Americans in this country without depicting morbid subject matter outright. When creating public art, it is of the utmost importance that one considers the entire viewing audience of a piece, puts care and tenderness into the execution, and produces a beautiful end result. With all these factors in mind, we set out to create a visually striking and thought-provoking mural for this wall in downtown Scranton. We believe that mural art is immensely important for any community, both as a way to improve quality of life, and a vehicle to inspire positive change.