[gentle music] - I think it's important to celebrate African American history and culture because it's telling stories that are lesser known.

I think there's universal metaphors and stories of enduring through hard times and family and faith.

I think these are all things that it doesn't matter what background you come from.

You can learn something.

[gentle music continues] - I believe that, until you know where you come from, you don't know exactly where you're going, and so it's important to be able to tell the story of the community, for young people to be able to come and learn about their forefathers or their foremothers, those who came before them.

It's a rich history and it helped shape Gastonia and helped mold Gastonia into what it is today.

[gentle music continues] It's important because I feel like, a lot of times, the stories of our community, of our local community, is oftentimes, especially in the African American community, is left out of the museums.

It's left out of the history books.

It's left out of the stories that are being told about the communities.

[gentle music continues] [mellow music] Some would consider Gastonia a small town or a small community.

Gastonia is located about 14 to 17 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.

We still have quite a few people that were born and raised in this community.

So it has the small town feel, but we're certainly a growing city, and it is because of our proximity to the city of Charlotte.

- The project started due to interest in Dr.

John T. Biggers, who is my uncle-in-law, and also he was the father figure of the Biggers family.

His nephew, James, also called Jim, he wanted to do something.

He wanted to see something happen that would give honor and to let people know of the greatness of Uncle John, the monumental things that he had done as a humanitarian and as an artist.

- This piece of art was inspired by Mr.

John Biggers, and at one time, Mr.

Biggers was the most renowned muralist in all of the nation, and he is from the city of Gastonia, from the Highland neighborhood.

- John Biggers was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, and he receives the 1995 North Carolina Award in Fine Arts.

He's our country's premier muralist, and you can see his works in the legislative building of our state.

A teacher, a scholar, a man who has been very creative and inventive using the medium of art.

- Early beginnings of the project always starts with community conversations.

These projects are built for the community long after I as the artist or a team member on the project are done with the project.

We want the work to feel authentic.

We want a community member to pass by that art and feel like it resonates, it connects, and it speaks to them, feel like it's telling their story.

- Today, we'll assist the artist team in their final design development for public art at Erwin Park.

- Quilting, that's their family and community gathering.

- Okay.

- That's how families come in with it.

- [Coworker 1] We can put more than one image into a shape.

- [Coworker 2] Okay.

- Would we want to add the progression of the school?

- We ask people from the community to come and to give their input on what they would like to see.

We knew that the artists that we were working with wanted to use the concept that Uncle John and Jim used in their art, which is sacred geometry, using the circle, the square, the rectangle, the triangle, to form the objects in their works.

- One of the big components that I've been involved in as the artist is the engagement component and having the residents trust us enough to share their story and their experience of not only growing up in Gastonia generationally, but also the footprint that has been removed under urban renewal, and David and I have worked hard to honor the words of the community and take this language that tells the bigger story, past, present, and the future.

[lively music] Pride, culture, community, perseverance, self-sustaining, family, connections, legacy, community contributions to the greater area.

This is directly from the residents, and I do believe that conversation leads to connection and connection leads to a broader community, and art is a great vehicle for that.

- I felt it was only right to come back and do almost like a tribute to his early influences because he worked with the shotgun house form a lot in his artwork, and the shotgun house was a metaphor for community, for faith, for foundation, for protection, right?

And, you know, you primarily see these in the Black communities, these simple-built A-frame forms.

You know, they're always called shotgun houses because you can see right through the front door into the back.

When I introduced that as a team to the Highland Neighborhood Association, it felt right.

Everybody really embraced it and they understood it because shotgun house forms are still there in Gastonia to this day, and a lot of family members either grew up in those same type of homes or had family that grew up in those type of homes.

You're always trying to create, from a public artist standpoint, it'll be located outdoors.

You want to, you know, choose materials that'll stand up to the test of time, right?

You want the work to look like it's timeless.

From there, I kind of pass it off to the fabricator.

So reached out to Dylan and the team here at Oak City Customs, and knowing that I had good hands to pass it off into, to the Oak City team here in Zebulon.

[pensive music] - Working with David, we explored the design pretty fully for what he had in mind.

We talked about a lot of different types of materials and methods that we could use to manufacture this piece.

This was a really unique piece to build because it really reflects the history and culture of the area, and when we're working on it in the shop, you can't see the whole thing.

You're working on a piece or part of an overall larger unit, and when it's installed, it's a really impactful piece that you step back and take a look and it all starts to make sense and come together, and it's great to see how the community is interacting with this.

[dramatic string music] [traffic distantly rumbling] - It was a dream of my husband, Jim, that his Uncle John would be honored, because he grew up here in Gastonia.

[pensive music] [tools whirring] And my husband felt like he never... People didn't know him.

They didn't know of the person that grew up right here.

So he had a dream that he would be known.

People will start to understand more about the Biggers family and art.

So for this project to get to this point, I am totally overwhelmed, totally overwhelmed.

- I think there's a lot of heroes and she-roes that have come up, as I just, you know, talked about with Dr.

John Biggers and Jim Biggers.

You had individuals who made their own marks in different fields of endeavors, from law and government, civic organizations, to education and sports.

I think having the opportunity to work with a community who's been waiting on a project like this for years, this is a dream come true, right?

- I think that project will help to teach older people who don't know, because a lot of people who have moved here, they don't know the history of Gastonia, the Highland neighborhood, and the younger people can see just how it was years ago before their time.

[tender music] Those people who take the time to walk through and observe, and I think they will because they'll be curious to know what it is, and when they see that, I think that it will shed some light on the history of Highland neighborhood in Gaston County.

- That art project should engender a sense of appreciation for what Highland has meant to the life and times of Gastonia, of Gaston County.

Highland having endured, for Highland having been a bridge from then until now, that's the greatest sentiment that I'm hoping that people, the greatest takeaway I hope they will have.

- Good afternoon, everyone.

- [Crowd] Good afternoon.

- Good afternoon, everyone.

- [Crowd] Good afternoon.

- It is so wonderful to see all of you here today.

It's a beautiful day.

I firmly believe you will not know where you are going if you do not know where you have been.

Good, bad, ugly, or indifferent, it is all important because it impacts the decisions we make every day and helps shape the trajectory of our lives and our very existence.

- I'm just glad to be here today and almost in tears because I'm a product of Ward 4.

Ward 4 is the origin from which many of us came.

You represent something bigger than yourself.

You represent every person that will be immortalized here in this memorial that we have, and that's what you represent.

Know where you come from and be proud of it.

- My hope and desire for the viewer when they come to the Highland or the Erwin Center Art Plaza, which is titled "Open Frames and Enduring Stories."

Hopefully it's something that's educational.

It's an entry point or you get school groups coming through of all backgrounds and ages, and it's now a place where Erwin Center is not just a destination for maybe play and activity.

Now it's a place of, a destination for culture and education, inspiration, and greater conversation.

- On the count of three.

One, two, three.

[crowd cheering] [tender music] It's important to celebrate the history because so many sacrifices have been made to make sure that I have the freedoms that I have and that I'm able to work where I work and I'm able to live where I live.

A lot of sacrifices from those who came before me were made so that I could enjoy and have pleasure in living in this community.

So it's very important to tell those stories and to be able to share that history and those sacrifices and those investments, and that time will continue to be spent making sure that generations that come after us will live better than what we're currently living today.

[tender music continues]