TULSA, Okla. — Drive south on Greenwood Ave. toward the OSU-Tulsa campus and you’ll see a fence unlike any of the others.
“I wanted people in the community to have a place to write their feelings, their thoughts, their prayers," said Mary Ann Stufflebeam, owner of the fence.
The long, wooden fence is now painted black and shares messages of love, peace, kindness and Black Lives Matter.
Stufflebeam said the shooting of George Floyd, along with other shootings and protests this spring, made her want to reflect.
“It basically broke me and made me re-evaluate," she said. "It was like, probably one of the major growth times for me also one of the most painful. But at the end of the day, I’m going to become a better person, I hope everyone does.”
So, around the time of Juneteenth and President Trump’s visit to Tulsa, she decided to turn her fence into something positive for the community, painting messages of her own. She also leaves out chalk and paint for those passing by to create something themselves.
“In the end, I don’t think we should have hate and division, no matter what we think," she said. "We should be able to communicate and have and respect one another for their beliefs or their faith or whatever.”
The fence is a constant work in progress with new quotes and images being added all the time.
Most importantly, it’s a message of hope.
“It just concerns me that every single person doesn’t have someone to love them and to tell them that things are going to get better," Stufflebeam said. "So, I want it to be a place of hope.”
Spreading compassion in the community, one fence post at a time.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
