COMMUNITY & CULTURE
PEACE FLOWS FROM BRUSH AND PEN
Children’s book highlights art and times in verse
By VICKI BENNINGTON
does not go into what caused the unrest, but
focuses on how people came together to
begin the healing process through the art of
the Paint for Peace effort.
“We did not go into detail because we thought
parents should talk to their children in an
age-appropriate way that reflects their own
family’s perspective,” she said. “But the book
is a tool to help them talk to their children.”
The initiative behind the Paint for Peace effort
was due primarily to two groups - Tom Halaska
owner of the ArtBar, who helped organize
the painters on South Grand in the Shaw
neighborhood - many of whom also came
together to paint the boards in Ferguson.
In Ferguson, Dana Sebastian-Duncan, who
works with the Northern Arts Council and
the Ferguson Youth Initiative, organized
artists and youth to help paint boards.
Carol Swartout Klein showed up to help clean
up on Small Business Saturday in her hometown
of Ferguson, Missouri, after riots following the
grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown
2014 shooting death case resulted in streets
littered with debris and glass, and broken
windows covered with plywood.
“Then painters started to appear,” Carol
said. “It was such an inspiring thing – not
only the artwork that began to take shape,
but the whole process.
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“There were people young and old; black
and white; who didn’t know each other,
but they were saying that even though we
do have issues, there’s another side to the
community,” Carol said.
She knew she needed to do something, too.
“We each need to bring our tools to help, but a
paintbrush is not one of mine. I am more in the
storyteller or producer category,” Carol said