Members of the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, the Falls Church City Council, the Tinner family, and others gathered at 7139 Lee Highway for a dedication ceremony formally unveiling a towering, staggeringly beautiful mural created by Bryan King on the side of the three-story ACE Tool and Equipment building. With a huge message proudly declaring “Welcome to Tinner Hill,” this mural illustrates, in part, the origins of the first rural branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP.
An event with music, guest speakers, and food served at the nearby Tinner Hill Historic Site at 106 Tinner Hill Road, the ceremony began with an invocation by Rev. James Paige, Jr., of Galloway United Methodist Church, followed by remarks from Vice Mayor Debbie Hiscott.
Wyatt Shields, City Manager, spoke about the mural as another step in “closing the gaps” in the community. “The Tinner Hill Foundation uses the power of art, and that is something we can learn from.”
Nikki Graves-Henderson, Executive Director of the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, and Peter Adriance then reflected on their initial vision for the mural. “This is about American history, it’s not just about one family or two families. It’s not just about the Hendersons, not just about the Tinners. It is about what you put forth for the future [and] remembering the past so that we have a roadmap for the future.” It took five years for the mural to become a reality.
During his remarks, Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation President Rev. Steve Martin noted that, “if you take the permission of a white owner to use his wall, the use of a Korean-American woman-owned company to power wash, prime, and paint the wall, the permission of a Japanese-American owner to provide the work space, a white muralist to paint and digitize the rendering, and an African-American collaborator, isn’t it remarkable what Americans can do when we cooperate and work together?”
“In order to have community, we need to ensure we don’t forget and learn our history, which in turn opens up the opportunity for friendship. Once those two are in place, we can have community because it takes a community to change the world.”
Highlighting the collaboration between community leadership and local businesses, Rev. Martin also pointed out the support of the Falls Church Police Department, with some of the Department’s officers in attendance at the ceremony. Speaking about the years it took to make the mural a reality, he said, “We dug in, we didn’t give up, and Falls Church didn’t give up, either.”
Phil Christensen of the Social Justice Committee (SJC) reflected that the mural helps carry home the “joy of diversity,” and that true social and cultural diversity “makes living interesting.” Echoing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s concept of the “moral arc of the universe,” Christensen remarked that this mural helps validate the late Civil Rights leader’s hopes and ideas.
Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation founder Edwin B. Henderson II spoke about the origins of the Foundation. “When we started, there were no signs of the African American presence in Falls Church, at least not much.”
The 30-year path from the organization’s inception to the dedication ceremony for the new mural began “on faith,” representing decades of hard work, planning, and a sense of continuity important to the City of Falls Church and the surrounding community.
Rich Scott, SJC Music Coordinator, led the attendees in two sing-alongs, starting with “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and ending with “What A Wonderful World.” Mural artist Bryan King and Irene Chambers also gave remarks at the ceremony.
On Monday, June 24, 2024, the City Council will be voting on the Tinner Hill Mural District, a series of murals showcasing local history and the power of art to commemorate, educate, and inspire. The “Welcome to Tinner Hill” mural is the first of many planned public works of art.
