Reginald Adams spreads Juneteenth message through murals

The iconic and breathtaking mural “Absolute Equality,” officially presented to the world on June 19, 2021, was for some their introduction to the powerful Houston-based artist Reginald Adams. However, countless Bayou City residents have been blown away by his many public art displays, and are not surprised that Adams is fast becoming known as the nation’s official Juneteenth muralist.

The Defender spoke with Adams about his Juneteenth “mission” and other art projects he’s got going on locally and nationally, including 10 murals in six cities, five of which are in Houston alone.

DEFENDER: Though you were already an acclaimed artist, how has your life changed since the Galveston Juneteenth mural?

REGINAL ADAMS: I’ve become much more focused on the work, and particularly this work with Juneteenth; almost hyper-focused. And, while I always had intent around my work and doing things in the community, now I’m very, very interested in bringing light to this story, this era of time we know now as Juneteenth. It started in Galveston, Texas, but now it’s a nationwide, happening and largely in part to a lot of freedom fighters and Juneteenth influencers as I call them, that allowed for that moment in Galveston in June 19, 1865, to now be a federal holiday. And so, because I’ve learned so much from this story, I want to help tell the story through the voice of an African-American artist. And, I don’t have to wait for permission to do that. So, my focus around using art to tell the stories of Juneteenth has become priority one for me.

DEFENDER: How did Juneteenth 2021 impact society?

ADAMS: The impact of Juneteenth 2021, on the cusp of the dedication of that wonderful mural with a lot of support from the Juneteenth Legacy Project, a phenomenal committee of community citizens in Galveston who are kind of really the backbone of making it happen, but after the holiday, I realized that this story, while it’s quintessentially anchored in Galveston, this is now a national conversation. People, the next day after declaring this national holiday, woke up around the nation, were like, “What the hell is Juneteenth?” Literally, there were hundreds of millions of people who woke up to a new federal holiday and never heard of the word before. And, as I’m watching just the ripple effects of that, I realized that forevermore, for the rest of American history, we’ll be celebrating this holiday and we’ll be able to talk about what does it mean, what does Juneteenth mean?

DEFENDER: Can you speak to the Juneteenth murals you have done outside of Galveston?

ADAMS: I realized through mankind’s history, public art has been a very well-used tool to document those historical artifacts. That’s why the hieroglyphs in Egypt still to this day tell about the dynasties of that era. This was thousands of years ago. And this can be found around the world in cultures where art told the story of what was happening. So, at the freshness of this new holiday, I said, “What better way than to use public art, open mediums, open galleries, identify artists who are already sensitive and passionate about community-based work, hook up with these artists across the country, and go into cities that have the biggest markets of Black folks and people of color, and tell the story of freedom and emancipation through that localized lens. And that’s what we’ve done. We have now this year, 10 murals all under production at some stage [in Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Miami and Houston]. Many of them are done.

DEFENDER: Can you give us specifics about these national murals?

ADAMS: We have a mural that’s been painted by an artist named JD Moore in Dallas. That’s at the South Dallas Cultural Center. We have a mural in Philadelphia painted by Keisha Whatley at the Germantown Art House, which is just blocks away from the Johnson House, a 40-year-old institution that’s been celebrating Juneteenth for 40 years with a parade. We’re in Detroit, on Livernois Avenue, one of the Black Wall streets or business districts of America, just right in the heart of that Black economic center. We have a new mural that will be celebrated near Jubilee Day, which hosts a big festival and event. We’re doing this in Chicago at Overton Elementary School, in the Brownsville community by a phenomenal artist named Ramon Static. And in Miami, where we’re going back now for year two, we’re painting a mural at the Paul Dunbar K-8 Center right in the heart of Wynwood, which is the mural district of Miami. And Miami has officially adopted the mural as their citywide celebration. So, the city of Miami is putting on this event that will be capstone by the dedication of this mural.

DEFENDER: What about Houston?

ADAMS: We’re putting the finishing touches, literally as we speak, on a mural for the African American History Research Center, formally known as the African American Library at the Gregory School. They’ve rebranded themselves, but nonetheless, it’s the same institution that’s been basically the depository for Black history in Houston. And it will be the host to the mural that we’re painting right now. So, that’s the focus. And then we have four murals for the West Houston Assistant Ministry. Juneteenth inspired the United Wave of Gulf Coast Houston. Juneteenth inspired the Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston and the Lord of the Streets, all sites that will be host to Juneteenth-inspired murals for this year… 10 murals in six cities, five of which are in Houston alone, that all will be dedicated around the week of Juneteenth of 2023.

DEFENDER: Brotherman, you are certainly busy.

ADAMS: Little bit. But you know, I couldn’t ask to do anything else. People say, “Oh, man, I’m doing it for the culture.” Man, I got receipts, bro. Like, I’m watching these conversations across the country of communities talk about what does freedom mean? And that’s what Juneteenth means to me. I’ve learned enough now to not mince some historical pieces because as we peel back the layers of history, we learn new things.

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