Stellantis is an auto corporation that currently has a large presence in Detroit. This section is about the murals sponsored by the Stellantis Corp on the wall outside their manufacturing plant on the East Side of Detroit. The Stellantis murals shout out to or "revisit" the Wall of Dignity.
On Beniteau Street, along the wall of Stellantis’ Mack Assembly Plant, rises a 1,500-square-foot mural dedicated to the landmarks, people, and iconographic features of the East Side of Detroit. The Stellantis, formerly the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) mural, was designed and painted by Dr. Hubert Massey between 2022 and 2023. According to Stellantis’ official website, the mural is a part of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) established between the company and Detroit’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee in 2019. The CBA was written because FCA wanted permission to build a new extension to their factory in the area and receive benefits from the city. The agreement included a promise that committed to $7.1 million in infrastructure improvements along Beniteau Street including sound barrier, “wall construction and beautification.” The resulting mural, created after the artist Hubert Massey met with small groups of community members, included well-known features from this area of Detroit.
For example, pictured below is a portion of the Detroit Riverwalk which includes the carousel and above it, a view of the two bridges between the city and Windsor, Canada: the Ambassador and the Gordie Howe. The mural also showcases lesser-known figures and objects, sharing their often overlooked narratives. On the left is Sarah Elizabeth Ray, a woman from the East Side who was denied seating on the Bob-Lo ferry that trails the Detroit River. After the discriminatory act, she contacted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She started to build a case that she would later take to court and in 1948, she would be successful leading the U.S. Supreme Court to state that the company, “will be required in operating its ships as ‘public conveyances’ to accept as passengers persons of the Negro race.”
Above: Hubert Massey, Wall of Dignity detail from Stellantis mural, 2024, paint on cement wall, Beniteau Street, Detroit.
Photo credit: Stellantis Corporation
A key feature of this wall is its homage to the Wall of Dignity, a mural, created by Chicago artists Eugene “Eda” Wade and William “Bill” Walker, that once existed along the Fairview Building in Detroit . Pictured right is a portion of the new mural that shows Black men wearing dashikis which is a traditional West African garment that African-Americans wore to feel connected to the continent of Africa and feeling empowered in their Blackness.
Despite these important components of the Stellantis mural, there has been controversy and tension surrounding it, because according to an article on Curbed Detroit, “many Detroit artists believe the mural project is an effort to use art to mask injustices with the massive development.” They felt that although the mural is beautiful and it instills a sense of pride or community, it is physically and metaphorically used to create a facade in which this company’s promise won’t be fulfilled and that they will only work for corporate interests.
There was also an additional worry that due to the increased activity at the plant, the air quality will be affected and that their daily appliances may be affected. Kat Jones, who has lived on Beniteau Street most of her life, told an interviewer that the $15,000 grant allocated per household for home repairs– per the CBA agreement– is insufficient especially because many of her neighbors are impoverished and have needs beyond which that money can satisfy. This draws an important conversation of what are murals for and does their intended purpose translate with people and different communities.
Above: Hubert Massey, Wall of Dignity detail from Stellantis mural, 2024, paint on cement wall, Beniteau Street, Detroit.
Photo credit: Stellantis Corporation
Below: Detail from the original Wall of Dignity.
Photo Credit: Edward J. Bailey, ca 1968.
Hubert Massey, Sarah Elizabeth Ray and the Boblo Island boat detail from Stellantis mural, 2023, paint on cement wall, Beniteau Street, Detroit.
Photo credit: Stellantis Corporation
In 2021, an article on the Detroit People’s Platform gave an update stating that the members of that community near the Stellantis Mack Avenue Plant feel strongly that the company is not fulfilling its promise and that in fact, the community is being negatively affected– for example, paint fumes emanating from the plant were cited in an air quality violation. This may cause resentment or a certain thought upon seeing the mural because it may bring people back to how they were affected by Stellantis and invariably the mural.
I believe that it is important not only to decide what we make murals for, but also how we truly value the communities that they are supposed to benefit. Although the conditions of the CBA agreement were not what the Beniteau residents wanted, their anger may have been diffused if they felt more included in the mural's design, making, and then incorporating them more in the decisions made for their own community. Ultimately, successful community engagement requires genuine collaboration and respect. By prioritizing the voices and concerns of local residents throughout the mural creation process, we can foster a sense of ownership and ensure that public art truly serves the needs and aspirations of the community it aims to uplift.
Written by Sana 'a Brown
Stellantis Corporation. Celebrating Eastside Detroit community through art. PR Newswire: press release distribution, targeting, monitoring and marketing, March 8. 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrating-eastside-detroit-community-through-art-302083359.html.
Stellantis Corporation Blog, “Detroit Mural Comes to Life.” November 9, 2022. https://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com/2022/11/09/detroit-mural-comes-to-life/.
Lara E. Zielin, “The Unsinkable Sarah E. Ray.” Bentley Historical Library, n.d. https://bentley.umich.edu/news-events/magazine/the-unsinkable-sarah-e-ray/
Alan W. Barnett, Community Murals: The People’s Art (1st ed.). Associated University Press, 1984.
Aaron Mondry, “Detroit mural project outside FCA Plant Sparks concerns about “artwashing.” Curbed Detroit, March 5, 2020. https://detroit.curbed.com/2020/3/5/21166290/detroit-fca-mural-project-community-benefits-artwashing.
Detroit People’s Platform, “Frontline residents push EGLE to cite FCA/Stellantis with air quality violations,” September 21, 2021. https://www.detroitpeoplesplatform.org/economic-justice/frontline-residents-push-egle-to-cite-fca-stellantis-with-air-quality-violations/.
Detroit People’s Platform, “Justice for Beniteau Residents.” August 4, 2022. https://www.detroitpeoplesplatform.org/justice-for-beniteau-residents/.
The reporter Jena Brooker continues to follow the story of controversy over environmental hazards in the neighborhood near the Stellantis mural for the online publication Bridge Michigan.