Metro Roundup: Homewood muralist surprises community with uplifting message

Shawn Fitzwater’s idea to paint the We Are All In This Together mural in Homewood on the Battle Republic building was a last-minute decision.

He didn’t ask anyone for permission to paint it — not even the Battle Republic owners.

He worked through the night on March 27. Not a soul was in sight, he said. The coronavirus pandemic had just started gaining national attention, so everyone was at home.

He finished up around 4 a.m. that next morning, and people in Homewood immediately started to notice it. Not only strangers, but also some of Fitzwater’s friends started sharing it on social media the day after he painted it. Fitzwater didn’t tell anyone about his plans to paint the mural except his family and didn’t sign his name on it, so at first, none of them realized Fitzwater was the artist.

“People would say, ‘I was having such a tough day and a rough week, and then I saw this,’ and they’d take a picture of it,” he said. “That makes me happy. That’s what it’s there for, to help people through this rough time.”

The community response was overwhelming, he said.

“The feedback’s been great,” he said. “I didn’t expect too many people to stop and take pictures of it, but there are hundreds of pictures now. People are making it their Facebook banner.”

His friends at Vulcan Apparel Company approached him with the idea to print the mural on a T-shirt — something Fitzwater had never done before — and donate the proceeds to a local charity. They found BHM Cares, a nonprofit that helps feed Birmingham’s healthcare workers.

They sold more than 250 shirts and raised more than $3,000 during their seven-day campaign.

He and his friends at Vulcan Apparel Company are in talks about reopening the campaign and possibly offering the shirt in more colors. Follow @fitzsigns on Instagram for updates.