Project Location: Facing McDuffie Square, downtown Laurinburg, 129 W Railroad St, Laurinburg, NC.
Project Overview: The Laurinburg mural is part of Paint NC: 100 Murals in 100 Counties, a statewide public art initiative dedicated to honoring North Carolina’s local histories through monumental portraiture. Installed in McDuffie Square in downtown Laurinburg, the mural centers on the enduring legacy of the Laurinburg Institute, a historically significant African-American preparatory school founded in 1904 by Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie.
The composition foregrounds the McDuffies as foundational figures, educators, builders, and visionaries, whose commitment to education created a pipeline of excellence that reverberated far beyond Scotland County. Surrounding and extending from their presence are references to notable alumni, including cultural and athletic figures such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Jones, and Charlie Scott, situating the Institute as a quiet engine of national impact.
Rendered in a restrained, dignified visual language, the mural blends monochromatic portraiture with symbolic color and architectural elements, anchoring personal legacy within collective memory. Rather than functioning as a static historical marker, the work operates as an act of civic storytelling which asserts the Institute’s influence within the daily life of the city and reclaiming public space as a site of remembrance, pride, and continuity.
As the inaugural mural of the Paint NC project, the Laurinburg installation establishes the series’ guiding principle: that every county carries a history worthy of visibility, scale, and care.