Over the past three months, Atlanta creatives-led COVID-19 prevention campaign, “Big Facts, Small Acts,” has worked tirelessly to help spread the message, through targeted, grassroots multimedia efforts, that Atlanta’s Black and Brown communities are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.
“Big Facts, Small Acts” is a grassroots, arts-based, multi-media campaign aimed at educating Atlanta’s vulnerable black and brown communities on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, which is disproportionately impacting the physical and financial health of African-American and Latino communities.
Campaign collaborators include Atlanta-based arts and media companies Everybody Eats Media Production, PowerHaus Creative, GOMEZ, phyllis. iller Photography, B Funny Productions and Warren Projects. Art pieces created by local visual artists Fahamu Pecou, Fabian Williams, Tracy Murrell, Angela Bartone, Sean Fahie, and Corey Davis.
In light of the city’s recent wave of civil protest, the group enlisted the help of notable Atlanta street artists to remind communities most affected racial injustice, including healthcare access and care disparities, that staying masked up and safe while protesting is also a way of protecting and fighting for their communities.
All around Atlanta, Fabian Williams (@OccasionalSuperstar), Dubelyoo (@Dubelyoo), Matt Letrs (@letsgopaint), Melissa Mitchell (@abeillecreations) and other artists are defacing their own murals by adding face masks to iconic images of Martin Luther King Jr., Colin Kaepernick, Bob Marley, and ATL United star Joseph Martinez, in an effort to remind people to wear their masks while protesting.
“The truth is we are fighting a two-front battle in the fight for equal rights and access for Atlanta’s Black and Latino citizens,” said Sherri Daye Scott, founder of “Big Facts, Small Acts.” “Of course, people are taking to the streets to make sure their voice–and action occurs, but COVID-19 is still sending more black and brown people to the hospital and the grave than other populations.
“And, we know, despite what the governor has said, the best way to prevent its spread among large groups is to wear a mask. And wash your hands. And follow the CDC tips when you get home,” she added. “COVID is still here. We must be vigilant as we vote, protest, organize—and simply live—to ensure we cover our community.”
As locals take to the streets for protests, these murals can currently be spotted in the West End at Ralph David Abernathy and Peeples, at Lee and Ralph David Abernathy, and on Wylie Street in Cabbagetown.
In addition to the murals, “Big Facts, Small Acts” is distributing masks throughout the city designed by local creative agency, Chemistry. The masks, which bear messages, “Just Trying to Stay Alive While Black” and “Abre su Boca, Pero Cubrela” (Open your Mouth, But Cover It) have been seen across the city, including in line for the GA primary and in PSAs for Councilman Andre Dickens.
