March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29

show the Bloomington community
its commitment to equality and justice. "
The parks board unanimously
approved the BCCAC's recommendation
to proceed with the BLM
street mural project.
Although the possibility of three
BLM street murals had arisen during
the parks board meeting, the City
passed Resolution 20-16 on September
23, 2020, officially " endorsing the
painting of two Black Lives Matter
murals. " Resolution 20-16 " called on
the Board of Public Works to permit
the use of a public right-of-way and
join in the public display of support
for Black and Brown residents who
have been fighting for justice and
equality for far too long. "
Three " Black Lives
Matter " Murals
On September 29, 2020, the Board
of Public Works was presented with
Resolution 2020-50 requesting approval
of a right-of-way encroachment
for the painting of a BLM mural
on a city street. The project was
a " collaboration between the Board
of Parks Commissioners, Banneker
Community Center Advisory Council,
Bloomington Arts Commission,
the Office of the Mayor, Community
and Family Resources Department
and Bloomington Common Council. "
The City was " also planning an
additional mural somewhere downtown,
pending public engagement. "
The Board of Public Works
unanimously approved Resolution
2020-50 allowing for the encroachment
for the first BLM street mural;
this mural was painted on October
24, 2020. A few weeks later, on December
1, 2020, the city issued a
press release announcing that " the
City's second Black Lives Matter
street mural would be installed in
downtown Bloomington. "
On April 13, 2021, the Board of
Public Works considered the painting
of the second BLM mural. As
with the first BLM mural, the second
mural was identified as an " interdepartmental
project " with the purpose
of displaying support for " our Black
and Brown residents who have been
fighting for justice and equality for
far too long. " Without further discussion,
the Board of Public Works approved
Resolution 2021-10 authorizing
the encroachment for the second
BLM street mural.
Indiana University Mural
In June 2021, the City was working
with IU and the Black Collegians on
the approval and installation of the
third and final BLM street mural.
This mural was funded in part by
IU's funding board and painted July
3-5, 2021. Those funds came from
mandatory student fees, as well as
donations from individual community
members and the Division of Student
Affairs.
On August 3, 2021, the board retroactively
approved the third BLM
street mural, which had been described
as a " community project "
to display " support for our Black
and Brown residents who have been
fighting for justice. " Several news articles
published at the time the street
mural was painted detailed the efforts
of the Black Collegians group
to bring the BLM mural to IU's campus
and the students' involvement
with the university in choosing the
mural's location.
" All Lives Matter "
Mural Request
Near the end of July 2021, after the
third BLM street mural had been installed,
Plaintiffs Kyle Reynolds and
IU Chapter of Turning Point USA
began sending emails to IU and city
officials requesting approval for a
street mural stating, " All Lives Matter. "
IU Chapter of Turning Point
USA described itself as an organization
that seeks to " identify, educate,
train, and organize students to promote
principles of freedom, free markets,
and limited government. "
Plaintiffs stated their belief that the
" Black Lives Matter " statement was
" contradictory to their core principles. "
Accordingly, Plaintiffs wished
to express their own view that " All
Lives Matter " by creating a mural
setting out that message that would
be similar in size and scope to the
BLM mural.
On July 20, 2021, Plaintiff Reynolds
reached out to IU via email
requesting permission to create an
" All Lives Matter " mural on campus,
" ideally on a large street, such as the
one utilized for the BLM mural, however,
any large space with high visibility
on campus should be adequate. "
On July 26, 2021, IU officials replied
that the " BLM mural was created
on a street owned by the City of
Bloomington. " Since " the City was
the entity that ultimately approved
the mural, " Plaintiff Reynolds was
instructed to contact the City with
his request.
On July 29, 2021, Reynolds
emailed the City with his request
for a permit to create an " All Lives
Matter " mural. On August 2, 2021,
Reynolds was told to work with the
IU officials to " get the concept for
any murals approved for placement
on any streets on campus. " Reynolds
responded to IU's request to " send location
ideas and a proposed graphic
for the All Lives Matter mural. "
Upon review of the proposed mural
design, featuring the phrase " All
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| Parks & Recreation
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March 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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