Project Location: On the side of Inner Peace Center for the Arts, 302 North Chestnut Street, Lumberton, NC.
Project Overview: The America 250 mural in Lumberton, North Carolina, is a large-scale public artwork created by Max Dowdle to commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. Installed on the north wall of the Inner Peace Center for the Arts in downtown Lumberton, the mural situates Robeson County’s history within a national narrative, emphasizing local contribution as a defining force in American identity.
The composition centers on three figures whose lives extend beyond regional impact: Ida Van Smith, a pioneering Black aviator and educator; Thomas Oxendine, a Lumbee serviceman and the first Native American naval aviator to fly combat missions; and Malcolm McLean, the innovator whose containerization system transformed global trade. Together, these figures represent flight, service, and industry, threads that connect local ingenuity to worldwide consequence.
Developed as part of the America 250 NC initiative and integrated into Dowdle’s Paint NC: 100 Murals in 100 Counties project, the mural blends commemoration with participation. Community paint days invited residents to contribute directly to the work, reinforcing the idea that national history is built collectively rather than inherited passively.
Rather than presenting a singular patriotic image, the mural offers a plural vision of America – one shaped by diverse voices, disciplines, and ambitions. In doing so, it affirms Lumberton’s role not as a peripheral footnote, but as an active contributor to the nation’s ongoing story.