![\"Willie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PYFIO6QRMBHAZO4BVGHVSR4FMI.jpg\")
Willie Williams transforms MLK’s famous words into a monumental sculpture.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\nBirmingham artist Willie Williams said he hopes his art will encourage people to keep fighting the good fight.<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 22 foot tall carbon steel sculpture, titled the Arc of Justice after the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr., will be the center of a local event reminding community members that even in times of unrest, justice will prevail. At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, Williams will open the doors of Studio 2500 to celebrate art, culture and unity. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a reminder of what\u2019s at stake, what\u2019s on the line, using art and the Arc of Justice itself as a tool to catalyze change and keep people fighting,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 storyWillie Williams transforms MLK’s famous words into a monumental sculpture.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\n
Raised in Birmingham\u2019s historic Smithfield neighborhood, where civil rights activists Arthur Shores and Angela Davis made their marks, Williams learned the importance of art and history.<\/p>\n
Williams recalled drawing at all hours of the day and taking trips to art and civil rights museums across the South as a child. <\/p>\n
His father, Willie Williams Sr., taught him how to paint with watercolors at just 4-years-old. <\/p>\n
Over time, his passion continued to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving the honor to just be raised in Smithfield, and knowing the significance of that area inspired me to do this type of work,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just inspired me to delve into that. It was like my second language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams honed his skill at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, then explored metalworking and sculpture at Birmingham Southern College. <\/p>\n
![\"Studio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P2C52Q3WHNCWTNBJ4LKGNLTL7A.jpg\")
Willie Williams is a painter and metalworker. His gallery, Studio 2500, showcases his work.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\n
Today, in a studio nestled in North Birmingham, Williams\u2019 bold, colorful art hangs on the walls. His metal sculptures are intricate and detailed, telling the story of those who came before him. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy work primarily highlights heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeroes of Black history and Black culture whose stories and impact and work that they\u2019ve laid in the past are actually resurfacing today through all of the social political changes that we\u2019re experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Studio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/YNXBXQQWBZGINLP7O527HL5K2Y.jpg\")
Willie Williams is a painter and metalworker. His gallery and workshop, Studio 2500, showcases his art.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\n
His work is all over Birmingham, from City Walk<\/a> to the Mayor\u2019s Office<\/a>. But it doesn\u2019t stop there. Williams said his art can also be found in Georgia, Houston, Chicago<\/a> and New York. <\/p>\n While his art has been recognized nationally, Williams said his Birmingham studio holds a special place in his heart. <\/p>\n \u201cFrom the mayor to the monks, different generations, old and young, are able to come and find an experience that connects them,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing art to heighten Black culture, bring different cultures together and allow our cultural exchange to help us pursue better human relations.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilhelmina Thomas<\/a>, a civil rights researcher and textile artist, said the first time her art was displayed as an adult was when Williams gave her an opportunity to participate in his gallery. <\/p>\n \u201cAs he has these art shows, we are seeing more and more local African American artists,\u201d Thomas said. <\/p>\n \u201cHis work and his father\u2019s work are very important to me. They inspire me in my work. And this is just a great space to be…We need to have all of that joy and all of that hope and creativity gives us that. Joy is a form of resistance, so that\u2019s what this is.\u201d<\/p>\n The Arc of Justice In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement came to a head after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery ignited the nation. <\/p>\n That summer, Williams marched alongside other Birmingham activists demanding change. <\/p>\n \u201cYou could hear the frustration\u2026but you could feel the solidarity too,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was that day with us walking through those streets, passing through Kelly Ingram, going and stopping at the police station, I was just thinking, \u2018My art needs to respond to this social ill right now. Justice is necessary, so how can my art reflect that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He found the answer in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. <\/p>\n \u201cI saw Dr. King speaking and talking about how long justice would take to come. And he said, \u2018How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n From there, Williams got to work.<\/p>\n From 2020 to 2022, he planned, designed, engineered, fundraised and created the Arc of Justice, a piece that he calls a \u201cglobal symbol<\/a>\u201d highlighting how, more than 60 years later, the fight for social justice is ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made a moment that carries forward from then to now that keeps the goal of our society to get better and be more just and humane at the forefront,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n The event In a free, annual event, dubbed by Williams Arc of Justice Day<\/a>, community members will come together for art, music, food and speeches from civil rights and local leaders including Shuttlesworth documentarian T. Marie King<\/a> and poet laureate Salaam Green<\/a>. <\/p>\n Activist Sarah Collins Rudolph<\/a>, who was injured in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, will be honored at the event. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a day of art, community and action,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n The Arc of Justice is more than inspiring words from a speech, an art piece and an event. Williams has also created a foundation in its name to fund arts programming<\/a> for local youth, including summer camps and after-school workshops. <\/p>\n He also hopes to embark on a project to transport the arc to different parts of the world<\/a> to \u201crepresent the global effort and unity required to achieve justice and equality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want the foundation to be able to use the art and arc to push for social change,\u201d Williams said. <\/p>\n The artist said he hopes the event and his art will inspire community members to keep fighting for better. <\/p>\n \u201cI hope that all 99 neighborhoods in Birmingham are filled with art, opportunity and access for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birmingham artist Willie Williams said he hopes his art will encourage people to keep fighting the good fight.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-109159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Arc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PJP6DJMJCJDMBAJOVWAGQ2G5P4.jpg\")
Willie Williams said he created the Arc of Justice in response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\n![\"Willie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7XNIFBURT5E75DXT5QWO2V3N74.jpg\")
The “Arc of Justice Day” event will include art, music, food and speeches from civil rights leaders.Alaina Bookman<\/p>\n