Inclusive 'Kindness Heals' mural embraces 'all of our diversity,' Columbia mayor says

Kindness, inclusion and collaboration are the core tenets of a mural on the east wall of the building that houses Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Humans Services and Compass Health on West Worley Street.

A gathering of Children's Grove leadership, city and county officials, mural artist Tina Blanck and staff of DeafLead Institute, along with community members and the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, came together Wednesday to dedicate the "Kindness Heals" mural by Blanck.

"Our mission is to inspire kindness and civility and support the mental and emotional well-being of our youth," said Kim Dude-Lammy, Children's Grove president.

The mural was commissioned by Children's Grove, which has kindness club and kindness ambassador programs in Columbia schools as well as kindness trees and benches in the shape of a butterfly, the symbol of Children's Grove. The mural was supported through financial and material donations from Nancy and Aaron Stoker and Sherwin Williams, respectively.

EquipmentShare also supported the project by providing a scissor lift used by Blanck to paint hands of varying skin tones and one painted in rainbow colors that spelled out the word "kindness" in American Sign Language on the building's wall.

"In this politically divided time, when hate tends to be the center stage, it has never been more important to turn up the volume on kindness," Dude-Lammy said. "We want to make kindness the norm. Each of us play a role in building a kind community."

Being kind improves a person's mental health, the person they may be helping and for even bystanders, witnessing kindness has a positive impact, she added.

Accountability and kindness

The visibility of the mural, its location and message is so important, said Mayor Barbara Buffaloe.

"Kindness doesn't exist in vacuum. It exists in a community that supports one another, lifts one another up and embraces all of our diversity and is inclusive of all. I love that the mural recognizes that and recognizing what makes our community strong," she said.

Boone County Northern District Commissioner Janet Thompson, who was wearing a T-Shirt with its own "Be Kind" message, related the message of the mural back to a conference she attended over the summer. One breakout session focused on unsheltered resident support and health care access.

"One thing that made its way into my notebook that resonates for me here, the word that I highlighted from that session came from a Texas sheriff. He talked about accountability," she said. "Often we used the word responsibility when we talk about our relationship to others. That word accountability seems to be so much more pertinent to kindness and what that word means.

"The essence of accountability is kindness. Accountability makes us acknowledge the very humanness of each of us."

Spreading the 'Kindness Heals' message

Children's Grove Arts Chair Joyce Smith wants to bring the message of the "Kindness Heals" mural and the Children's Grove mission to the entire Interstate 70 Corridor.

She pushed for matching murals to be commissioned in St. Louis and Kansas City, eliciting an "oh, wow" from Buffaloe.

"I want to work with Mayor Buffaloe, Mayor (Quinton) Lucas from Kansas City and Mayor (Tishaura) Jones from St. Louis. Let's take this exact Children's Grove mural down I-70. We can find a wall in Kansas City and to the east in St. Louis," Smith said. "The Midwest is known as the heart of the U.S. Let's make Columbia, Missouri, the heart of kindness."

Blanck is based in Kansas City and is a freelance artist, so she has been commissioned to do a variety of projects, such as residential nursery bedrooms, art for magazines and printed art for invitations. "Kindness Heals" was her first large-scale mural.

"I had no idea the impact it would have on me and the joy it would bring. I wanted to be inclusive and it was my hope that every person would connect with the mural in some way," she said, sharing that as she was working on the mural, received many messages of support by people driving by on West Boulevard or Worley Street. "I truly began to realize this wasn't about me, but something bigger."

Kindness is about community, said Ashley Pappineau, DeafLEAD institute social worker, who has deaf parents and a sibling. She shared her message through American Sign Language, interpreted by Corinne Liedtke for the assembled crowd.

More: Here's how Columbia, Boone County organizations raised awareness for Children's Mental Health

"The deaf community can do anything. We just can't hear. Being deaf is a cultural and linguistic community," Pappineau said, relating that when among other members of the community, communication can flow, but can be stunted when interacting with the hearing community. "Keep in the back of your mind accessibility and community in all spaces. With this mural and Children's Grove, we want you to connect with us and learn about our culture and our language."

Since Children's Grove symbol is the butterfly, Pappineau wanted to share that the Monarch butterfly is deaf.

"Kindness is extremely important. That connection. This community. I want to thank you for being here and being supportive of DeafLEAD."

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 'Kindness Heals' mural dedicated at Columbia health department