Generations Strong

WHEN THE Hattiesburg Convention Commission approached FASTSIGNS of Hattiesburg about creating a commemorative monument honoring African American leaders from the city, there was no template to follow.

“Anytime you’re creating something that doesn’t exist, it can be a little nerve-wracking,” said Salem Bunkheila, director of operations for the commission.

The vision: a 375-foot illuminated display—the length of a football field—featuring 77 internally lit panels, each depicting a community member who shaped Hattiesburg’s history. The installation needed to draw visitors day and night while increasing traffic to what was already one of Mississippi’s top heritage sites.
The project would be called “Generations Strong”.

Over three years of planning, franchisees Justin and Amanda Blackburn and their team met with museum staff to understand the full scope and finalize the design.
With all panels built in their Hattiesburg facility, the biggest challenge was timeline. Once final approvals came through, the team had just 2.5 months to complete the wall before the unveiling ceremony.

They got to work. They cut panels to precision on their CAMaster CNC router and printed on an Epson S60600, using Arlon DPF 6000RP Clear Vinyl laminated with Arlon 3310—an eco-solvent solution that worked well on the white acrylic panels. They handled lighting and welded the supports in-house.

“This project was a little different from most of our other fabrication projects because there weren’t any plans or architectural renderings, so we did them ourselves,” said Amanda Blackburn. “We also had to be careful during our transportation process of all of the large acrylic panels to the site location to avoid mixing anything up. The graphics only have images and QR codes, and most of them are all the same sizes, so keeping them in order and labeled from production to fabrication to installation was a challenge.”

They also produced dimensional letters for a Nelson Mandela quote on the monument’s longest wall, and mounted a brushed metal plaque to the brick fascia listing all Generations Strong honorees. Each panel includes a QR code linking visitors to biographical information.

PHOTO GALLERY: GENERATIONS STRONG PROJECT (16 IMAGES)

“They were just as enthusiastic about this project as we were, and at no point did they doubt their ability. That gave me the reassurance that they were the team for the job,” said Latoya Norman, director of museums, Sixth Street Museum District.

As a final touch, the commission decided to present living honorees and family members with a commemorative gift. FASTSIGNS printed honorees’ faces on brushed aluminum plaques, framed for presentation.

The unveiling drew local TV coverage. The illuminated wall has substantially increased visitor traffic to the heritage site.

“We’ve had thousands of visitors and it’s something the community is really proud of,” Bunkheila said.

Justin Blackburn and Amanda Blackburn also contributed to this story.