RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – A mural is drawing attention from Black community leaders who say they don’t have a problem with the message, just the watermelon imagery.

The mural, at the intersection of Brookland Boulevard and North Avenue in Richmond’s Northside neighborhood, depicts a darker-skinned Palestinian woman holding a slice of watermelon, with the seeds spelling out “Free Palestine.”

Dr. Faedah Totah with Virginia Commonwealth University said the symbol traces back to 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip and banned the Palestinian flag.

“The Palestinian flag has four colors, red, white, black, and green, which also happens to be the color of a slice of a watermelon,” Totah said. “So, what ends up happening when you ban the flag is that people become creative in finding different ways to express their national identity.”

Totah said watermelons continued to appear in Palestinian artwork and have recently been popularized globally to signify Palestinian identity and solidarity.

“I have to say here that the watermelon is only one of the many symbols that Palestinians use to express their identity, to express their national belonging,” Totah said. “Watermelon definitely being a part of it, but the four colors more so than just the watermelon. But you also have the olive tree. You have Handala, who is a cartoon character, first drawn by the Palestinian, late Palestinian artist Naji Al-Ali, and of course, the Dome of the Rock, the Symbol of the Rock. Some of those symbols gained more international prominence than others.”

Totah said the watermelon and the flag’s colors have significant meaning to Palestinians.

“So, the colors have a meaning, and there is a poem by an Arab nationalist that pretty much describes what these colors are,” Totah said. “And so green is for the fields, red is for the blood that is spilled in the name of liberation and independence. Black is the rage that is shown towards enemies who try to prevent us from self-determination. And then white has another meaning, which now escapes me, but probably has a lot to do with intent, with the righteousness of our cause.”

The mural is located in a historically Black neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Jonathan Davis, the former president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters and also a former president of the Battery Park Civic Association, said the imagery gave him pause.

“I was taken aback because of the imagery that it represents, a watermelon up to the mouth of a Black woman,” Davis said. “So to me, understanding the history of our people and what happened during the Jim Crow era and how those images were used to demean us and make fun of us and ridicule us and run us out of the business, it really bothered me.”

During Jim Crow, racist caricatures of Black people eating watermelon were used to undermine successful Black farmers who grew watermelons to build wealth.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference Richmond Chapter President William McGee said the imagery could be changed to serve both causes.

“The history of the watermelon is a positive thing in the Black community, but it was used to denigrate other people, and that’s why we’re saying the image as it stands could be modified and would help the cause for both African-American freedom and justice and for the Palestinian cause,” McGee said.

Gary Flowers said Black leaders are not unfamiliar with the Palestinian movement.

“There’s been a 60-year alliance between the Black Liberation Movement in the United States of America and the Palestinian Freedom Movement in Palestine,” Flowers said.

“Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King visited Palestine. The Black Panthers visited Palestine. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee visited Palestine. And Brother Malcolm X visited Palestine. I am aware of the Palestinian movement through my work with Reverend Jesse Jackson, who went to Palestine to meet with PLO Chair Yasser Arafat. So, we are not lost on the history of the Palestinian movement or its symbolism.”

Flowers said the mural should be changed to reflect that shared history.

“We think that in order to commemorate that alliance, that 60-year alliance, we should remove the watermelon and replace it with the Black liberation flag and the Palestinian flag that will symbolize that unity of aspirational liberation,” Flowers said.

Flowers also said the building owner and muralist failed the community in the process.

Flowers, Davis, McGee and the NAACP held a press conference Friday to outline proposed changes to the mural and gather community input. They said about 20 people showed up.

“In this case, we think that the owner of the building and the muralist failed the community in four ways,” Flowers said. “First, they did not meet with the community before they put the artwork up. Secondly, they placed it in the epicenter of downtown Northside, if you will, of Richmond, Virginia. This community, very Black and proud over the last 80 years. Thirdly, when we approached the owner and the artist privately by email and Zoom call, there was a dismissiveness of, well, it’s our art.”

Not all residents in the neighborhood share those concerns. Duron Chavis, an artist and nonprofit operator in Northside, said the debate is a distraction.

“I feel like there’s a litany of issues in Northside that are of more pressing importance than the issues that these folks are taking with the mural,” Chavis said. “I mean, from lack of access to healthy food, to lack of affordable housing, the Dominion bills, you know, the electricity bills that we’ve gotten over the last month, you know, even down to the Highland Park senior homes.”

Chavis said the mural’s intent is clear and that this conversation is only diverting everyone’s attention.

“Especially when it’s obviously and very clearly, distinctly, speaking to the Palestinian genocide and lifting up the narrative of the importance of their resistance movement to survive,” Chavis said.

Mimi, founder of Few and Far, an international multiracial women’s art organization and nonprofit that has served Richmond neighborhoods for more than 10 years, sent a statement in support of the mural.

“As an international, multiracial women’s art organization and nonprofit serving Richmond neighborhoods for over 10 years, we believe murals uplift overlooked stories while contributing cultural value to our neighborhoods,” the statement read. “We are grateful to have Squid Licker share their work in Richmond. They are a world-renowned artist whose social justice murals help tell stories that might otherwise go unheard. Many, many in our community experience this mural as very empowering rather than offensive, contrary to statements made by Gary Flowers. We feel the ones opposed to this mural should start funding Black mural artists to create more public art like the ‘All City Art Club,’ to help share and tell their stories. We welcome open dialogue and remain committed to listening, solidarity, and strengthening our community together. Power to the people!”

The mural’s artist, Lauren S., had not responded to a request for comment to 12 On Your Side.

Building owner Teresa Sharpe declined to go on camera but said she wanted to hold space for Palestinians and raise awareness for their cause.

Sharpe also said she had contacted community members before allowing the artist to paint on her building wall.

Sharpe and the group are now considering a town hall to get the community’s input before moving forward.

Copyright 2026 WWBT. All rights reserved.