Ed White Elementary School in southwest Houston hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to unveil a new mural on the outside walls of the school.
The mural titled, "For a Better Future", depicts flags from various countries, the Statue of Liberty, and a child graduating. Aisha Siddiqui is the president of Culture of Health Advancing Together (CHAT), an organization that focuses on building self-sufficient and diverse communities. She said the mural was created to reflect the resilience of immigrants and refugees.
"What the mural shows is that when immigrants and refugees come here, they are worried, they don't know what they are looking for," Siddiqui said. "They go through education with the resources available, and then there is a bright future."
The mural is now part of the Gulfton Story Trail, a collection of community-based murals that tell the narrative of Gulfton. According to CHAT, each mural originates from poetry written by Gulton students and expressed visually by muralists.
"Our deep appreciation goes out to Ed White Elementary School for being such fantastic partners," Siddiqui said. "This generosity in hosting these murals has made art accessible to everyone in the community."
State Representative Gene Wu attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He said he is an alumnus of Ed White Elementary School.
"It makes me feel so good to see my own school being made beautiful, but also to make sure that the people in this community get recognized, to be seen," he said.
