For these children, a colorful piece of chalk is a powerful tool for self-expression

It's that time of year again, as students and parents celebrate with back to school festivals and prepare for the year ahead.

On the warm Saturday last weekend in Washington, D.C., parents stood in line for free backpacks, live music filled the air, and people indulged in shaved ice. But Penelope Marlett, 5, had a different idea on how to celebrate.

"I'm just drawing a duck," she said as she filled in the outline of her picture with a fresh piece of bright pink chalk.

Penelope was taking part in Chalk Walk, an event organized by Positive Chalk and Chalk Riot.

Positive Chalk is a D.C.-based organization providing children with the tools and language to advocate for themselves. Its primary tool is chalk and the pavement is their stage.

Val Rucker-Bussie is a regular volunteer for the organization, and said chalk helped children imagine their communities in ways words might not be able to.

"We want to help to create a brave space for families and particularly for children," Rucker-Bussie said.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Val Suarez founded Positive Chalk as a grassroots initiative. As the Movement for Black Lives grew, people across the world lifted their voices, organized in their communities, and marched. As the numbers grew, so did the police enforcement.

It was a time when many parents were hesitant to take young ones to marches and rallies.

Suarez recognized their isolation, so she bought chalk for the children in her community and provided them with the space to express their thoughts about the movement.

"She really wanted to bring a space to the kids that would allow them to transform the pavement to a landscape filled with positive affirmations and messages to the community," Rucker-Bussie said.

"While they weren't able to go to Black Lives Matter Plaza and protest with most of the community, they were able to get their voices heard through chalking."

In the months after protests began, Suarez traveled to numerous neighborhoods throughout the city. Since then, Positive Chalk has participated in more than 100 events. And Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, owner of Chalk Riot, a women-led street art crew, said Chalk Walk was her dream collaboration.

A few feet away from Penelope's duck art, Ritter-Soronen hovers over a large, colorful mural of animals, plants and a bright blue sky. It was created to inform Chalk Walk participants about the Anacostia Watershed, a mission in D.C. to clean, protect and restore the Anacostia River.

"It's always exciting to see other people turned on by the opportunity of sidewalk chalk," Ritter-Soronen said. "Something that both Positive Chalk and Chalk Riot share, and I think any pavement artist in the world, is that we understand that the ground is the one place in the world that we all share, whether we're away or not, and that presents an opportunity to express ourselves in public."

"You can use household items like barbecue charcoal or brick chunks, and it's intergenerational. There's a form of nostalgia there that really brings generations together."

She said there were many benefits to chalk art, but when it came to advocacy and self-expression, the greatest quality of chalk was its fleeting stain.

"We know it's going to wash away. I think that introduces a level of freedom in expression, knowing that it's not going to be there forever," Ritter-Soronen said. "When we create on paper or in coloring books or on designated spaces on walls, there's a finite limit to where and how you can create. But when we create on the sidewalk, I hope people can see that they can just sprawl with color and take up space."

Chalk Walk was filled with children and adults creating art across the space provided by the Phillips Collection, which also contributed to the back-to-school bash. The organization donated 50 backpacks to the festival and welcomed unfamiliar faces into their space without questions or hesitation.

Nehemiah Dixon III is the senior director for community engagement at the Phillips Collection and said he immediately agreed to collaborate with Positive Chalk when the opportunity was presented.

"Art is about wellness, and I think in a lot of ways art is a demonstration of resilience," Dixon said. "Art in the spirit of making, in the spirit of creating — it's like the closest thing to joy. They always say laughter is the best medicine, well so is joy. And so, if we can give someone moments of joy, I think we're accomplishing our mission."

People laughed as they talked with each other and took pictures with their chalk art. Joy is the best word to describe the event, but Penelope put it in her own words: "I like drawing about chalk." [Copyright 2022 NPR]