GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – He was known for his infectious smile and sense of humor. Now a mural in honor of Harold Bernard Batie will continue to be a beacon of light for the community.
On Tuesday, the city of Gainesville unveiled the mural honoring the retired firefighter and children’s magician better known as “B-Magic” to friends and family. He passed away in June 2023.
The mural titled “Creating Calm” adorns Gainesville Fire Rescue Station #4 which is located on Southwest 36th Street where Batie primarily served as a firefighter.
B-Magic is remembered for his involvement in the community and specifically his positive impact on the youth.
The art installation was possible through, One Nation, One Project of Gainesville (ONOP GNV) and the Released Reentry Program.
The city of Gainesville says ONOP GNV focuses on using arts and cultural engagement to reduce youth gun violence.
Emily Westerholm, executive director of Released Reentry, says an ONOP grant covered the costs of producing the mural and gave a group of incarcerated young men the chance to express themselves through art.
“Ten men that are incarcerated at Alachua County jail were solely responsible for the layout, selecting B-magic, the colors, etcetera,” said Westerholm. “I seek to empower others with compassion that are incarcerated. My intention was to create a space for them to process and create, while being introduced to new coping skills and strategies.”
For more than two months, Westerholm met weekly with the jailed young men to discuss their trauma, oppression, and stress, all while crafting the mural.
The youth then partnered with Turbado Marabou, a visual and performing artist, to bring their vision to reality.
Marabou says the different designs on the mural were all inspired by the conversations he had with the jailed youth. He says B-Magic influenced all of them in some way.
“He was always very positive and very powerful figure and he always made sure he left a message for people,” shared Marabou. “He influenced so many including myself. I was just really happy to be really expressing that experience within that mural. My times with him. My moments with him. You know talking from man to man, black man to black man, knowing him when I was just 17.”
He added that it was very important to him to get the honor of painting the mural. He says his biggest concern was making sure the portrait truly looked like B-Magic. He then recalled a moment when he got confirmation he was headed in the right direction. He says he was in his front yard working on the mural and as he was painting, someone drove by and pointed and yelled, “That’s B-Magic!” He says that’s when he knew he’d nailed it.
Marabou says for him, that was what it was all about – resonating with people – and that B-Magic’s influence continues to inspire.
“I want people to understand that though he’s passed on, he left a legacy, and he left an approach and a philosophy,” said Marabou. “We all can do this. Make sure you are at your best and making sure that you are really saying something and doing something that engages a person that they will pass it on.”
One of Batie’s daughters, Carmelitta Strickland, says seeing the mural is “bittersweet” and confessed that her emotions are all over the place.
“It’s good to see that the community acknowledged him the way that they did. We were ecstatic when we got the phone call about them doing this. So, it was just good to know that he’s not forgotten,” said Strickland.
She describes her father as a “gentle giant” and says he is physically missed, but the family is grateful for their memories.
Strickland says there is a “splash of everything” in the mural and that it does a great job of representing him.
