Raise Your Voice

Back home, I headed downtown with my camera again and found a city that had turned its boarded storefronts into canvases.

Plywood across windows and doors had become murals, filled with bold faces, bright colors and messages of love, hope and change. Painted utility boxes added even more art on nearly every corner. Along the Truckee River, people floated and paddled through the rapids while ducks drifted in the calmer water. The Washoe County Courthouse, the historic El Cortez Hotel and towering metal sculptures rounded out the walk. Tucked among the rocks, a small stone carried two painted words: Black Power.

Reno showed me that even in uncertain times, a community can choose to create rather than close itself off. Walking those streets, I felt proud to call this city home.