A new mural celebrating Henrietta Lacks, whose cells have been crucial to countless medical breakthroughs, is bringing Baltimore residents together for Community Day.
WATCH: Baltimore celebrates Henrietta Lacks with interactive mural
Here on the corner of Washington and Madison a forgotten historical figure is finally getting some shine on Community Day.
The vibrant portrait of Henrietta Lacks now stands as a colorful reminder of her extraordinary legacy.
"It hits them in the face as soon as they come over the hills," said artist Shawn Berkins, who designed the mural but intentionally left space for community participation.
The collaborative art project aims to educate Baltimore residents about Lacks, whose tumor biopsy in 1951 led to the first immortal cell line, known as HeLa cells.
These cells have been invaluable to medical research, though Lacks never gave permission for them to be harvested.
"We can bring awareness to kind of her whole story about her immortal selves and how she's been able to impact the world on a global stage," said a community participant.
The mural serves as both art and education, highlighting a story many don't know.
"From the vaccines and diseases or just research in the scientific area, a lot of people don't know about her full story, so this is a great way to spark the conversation and to get people to kind of start talking about her and what she means," another participant explained.
Berkins began the mural weeks ago but designed it as a community project from the start.
"Anytime I do projects in the community that everybody should be a part of, so we were excited to have, you know, the kids my kids all the way grown ups and our elders come out here and put some paint on the wall," Berkins said.
For the artist, the mural represents more than just paint on a wall—it's the beginning of important conversations about Lacks' contribution to science and the ethical questions surrounding her story.
"One conversation to open the door to hundreds of others. So once you create that spark, by having the mural here and just letting people know this is who it is, this is her story," Berkins said.
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