Ralph Waldrop also has done several murals around town, one of which is passed by thousands of motorists each day. Formally called “Capital City Times” but more commonly known as “The Black Mural,” it is painted on both supports of the North Main Street railroad trestle at the entrance to Earlewood Park.

It’s painted on both supports of a North Main Street railroad trestle at the entrance to Earlewood Park. Waldrop had help with this mural from artist Vanessa Ashford– Bussy.

Judi Battiste coordinated the project with 24 Alcorn Middle School students, and it was supposed to be painted only on one wall. By the time it was completed in 1995, it was so large it had to be spread to both walls of the railroad trestle.

“One side shows the kids’ feelings about themselves growing up in Columbia. The other side is more of a tribute to African–American role models,” Battiste said. At the time Battiste was chairwomen of the arts committee for the local chapter of The Links Inc., a national women’s service organization.

Among the many role models in the mural are the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, South Carolina native and astronaut Ronald E. McNair, who died when the Space Shuttle “Challenger” exploded in 1986, and Columbia native Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, former astronaut and current administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).