DALLAS — A basketball court at an apartment complex in the Highland Hills community of southern Dallas has been transformed into a Black Lives Matter mural.
The mural is part of a project that has been uniting community members in that area.
The game of basketball matters to many of the boys and girls living at the Mountain Creek Apartments. The sport gives them an outlet, and the complex’s court allows them the space to sharpen their skills. That was the case, even when the court was cracked and crumbling.
“It was cracked. It wasn’t that good-looking,” said neighbor Chellsee Thompson.
However, just as youth and young adults matter, coaches say their safe havens are also important. That is why community members organized and worked to transform the apartment complex’s basketball court into a large-scale mural.
”This community needs hope,” said Mountain Creek Apartments property manager Dessirrae Savage.
It is a mural with the words "Black Lives Matter" painted center court.
”Even though it says Black Lives Matter, it’s about us as a whole,” explained Coach Brian Webb.
Webb runs the City Ballers program at the complex. He said groups including the Hoop Bus Foundation, Build Courts Not Walls, and Lone Star Human Services worked with neighbors to resurface the court and paint the mural.
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”It’s just something that they can always put on their minds,” Webb said “Just to remember, man, we’ve got to do better. It’s bigger than just Black Lives Matter. But what’s going to be behind that? What are the actions behind that?”
The neighbors say the mural is all part of some ongoing projects they have planned for the community. Most of the efforts are focused on youth mentoring and family resources.
”We want to do some after school programs. We want to do some feedings. We want to do some book reading programs,” Savage explained.
Some neighbors say the court isn’t just a mural. They call the court's message a motivator.
"It shows that the community is trying to bring itself together for the first time in a long time," neighbor Will Williams said.
Organizers are working to help provide new shoes and equipment for the children who use the basketball court. To learn more, or donate, you can visit LoneStarHumanServices.org, or text “New Shoes” to 281-749-1587.