Local shop’s ‘Slow Talk’ mural a testament to Southern culture

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Madison Brainerd

There is a big sense of community in Tuscaloosa, with its rich Southern history and a welcoming environment.

Marcus and Beatty, a barbershop and curated men’s store, wanted to start conversations within the community and turn those conversations into action.

“The goal of things that bring people together is we’ve got to have these conversations in the same room, so that then it’s a unified voice of well, what’s the next step,” said shop co-owner Sam Morgan.

Morgan’s idea to accomplish this was creating a mural that could be a conversation piece. See the mural? Walk in and ask, “Hey, what’s that?”

Co-owner Trey Umfress has the phrase “Slow talk” tattooed on his knuckles. Morgan asked Umfress to tell him what Slow Talk meant, because it obviously meant enough to get it permanently inked onto his skin.

“It’s the way we speak,” Morgan said. “But there’s also that juxtaposition of, doesn’t mean we’re dumb. It’s really kind of that duality of yeah, it’s a slower way of living, but we’re still sharp,”

Umfress wrote a poem on the idea of Slow Talk that “captures the essence of Southern resilience and the quiet struggles faced by everyday people.”

Slow Talk

I got trouble a mile high
Six foot deep
Three feet wide
I can’t see the road
I’m stuck driving on
I only got pennies
When I need a dime
Good help
Is hard to find
In the dead
Of a Mississippi summer
Slow talk rolling
Off my empty hanging breath

Morgan said it made sense to make that the focal point of the mural because it is vague enough and will leave passersby asking what Slow Talk is. So he sketched out his ideas and brought them to life over a few weeks of painting.

“I finally just said you know, it makes the most sense for us to make our art,” Morgan said.

Morgan said he has seen enough funky and unique things all over other cities, he wanted to bring some to Tuscaloosa even if nobody else follows behind.

“We’re gonna be that spot where you walk in and you go, this doesn’t feel like Tuscaloosa,” Morgan said. “It’s really just a place for community, a place for people to come in and go,”

Slow Talk has been successful in drawing people in and asking, “What is Slow Talk?” Morgan said he gets to have that conversation with people. The best thing that happens is seeing how many people relate, he said.

“It’s just that visual of people coming to be able to see something and go, that kind of resonates with me,” Morgan said. “I think it means something different for everybody.”

Marcus and Beatty is located at 2124 Ninth St. in Tuscaloosa.