A community effort: How years of planning unfolded to create Topeka’s largest, most inclusive mural

Creating the Brown v. Board education mural, there was a lot of doubt about how this project was going to come about.

Filling the south-facing wall of Hill and Co.’s building at 1424 S.E. Monroe St., near the Brown v. Board of Education historic site, was the largest undertaking the Topeka Mural Project had ever attempted.

It involved coordinating with an artist with whom the mural project had never worked. From the project facilitators to city leaders, building owners and the general public, it involved a lot of trust.

“I learned pretty early on that you have to just trust the Toombs,” said Sarah Fizell, executive director of ArtsConnect Topeka.

Toombs is Michael Toombs, a Kansas City, Mo.-based artist who oversaw thousands of painters over months of painting to create the mural.

“I think he’s an amazing leader and a team builder,” said Topeka police Lt. Joe Perry, chairman of the mural committee within ArtsConnect. “Even when we were first in talks, he was already thinking about who he wanted to bring in to mentor and develop, to teach.”

(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)