The Neighborhood Design Center and the towns of Brentwood in Prince George’s County recently unveiled a new art installation that replaced an old segregation-era barrier that stood between Brentwood, a former “sundown town” and North Brentwood, the county’s first incorporated African American town.
Known as the Windom Road Barrier, the crash barrier was established in 1957 following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954. The barrier stood as a symbol of danger for the residents of North Brentwood during a time when segregation walls were common in America.
After almost 67 years, the town of Brentwood and North Brentwood decided to join together to replace the barrier with art to restore unity and move forward.
Local organizers and artists Nehemiah Dixon III and Wesley Clark collaborated with the Neighborhood Design Center during an 18-month engagement process to design the site with the barrier into a memorial sculpture and park.
Clark is a local multimedia artist based in College Park, MD and Nehemiah Dixon III is an artist who also works at The Phillips Collection where he oversees the Community Engagement Department.
Clark says it was the first time he has collaborated with another artist outside of his own studio and that with the barrier project he had the opportunity to provide input on stylistic approaches although the design had been already finalized.
“I think it was very important that the barrier was not just removed but incorporated into something new that speaks to something more powerful and positive than its soiled history, and the community can engage with it in a new way,” says Clark.
It initially took seven years to design a plan for the park and sculpture. The new design now features a sculpture of two hands lifting the barrier in the air so that the two towns walk freely beneath it.
“For those that know the history of the barrier and who lived and experienced its presence, I hope that this sculpture gives them a feeling of being redeemed, being a witness to change, and seeing themselves as one of those hands that is defeating the past and working toward betterment for their community.”
