Jeremy Siegel: You’re listening to GBH’s Morning Edition. Donna Summer was larger than life, and the queen of disco is now immortalized in a mural that, fittingly, is also larger than life, like ten times larger. It runs along the side of Black Market in Nubian Square, painted entirely black with a massive white circle at the center and inside a big iconic image of summer with one shoulder raised. I talked to the artist behind the mural and Donna Summer’s sister about what this piece means for the community and her family.

Cedric "Vise1" Douglas: My name is Cedric "Vise1" Douglas, and I’m a local artist, muralists, social interventionists. When I first think of Donna Summer, the first one that comes to mind is "She Works Hard For The Money, so hard for it, honey."

Siegel: When you were working on this mural, were you listening to her?

Douglas: Of course, I always do. When I’m painting people like artists or musicians, I always try to listen to the music and get connected with them. This, I think, is a 50 foot by 60 foot wall and it is pretty large. And I think this one captures her essence. Her hair is wild. She has that pose. As an artist and as a person from Boston, I want to highlight people that are underrepresented from the community, and that’s something that’s part of my work.

Mary Bernard: Hello, my name is Mary Bernard — or Mary Gaines, Bernard is my professional name. I am a singer. I’m a songwriter. I am a mother, a wife, and I’m a sister. Donna’s early years was spent in Orchard Park, and that’s literally down the street from where that mural is. And Boston was always loving towards Donna. But to see that there in that place just, I felt like this is what she would want. Like, not that she — She was not a person with a lot of fancy, you know, as big as she was, she wasn’t that person, but she would know what that would mean to kids who live in that area, like the hope that it would bring in. And her whole thing was, you know, bringing love, joy, hope. And to see that it was like, she actually got recognition from the people she loved.

Douglas: She did three consecutive double albums and they all three of them went platinum. So that’s six albums. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum, Platinum, platinum. And she comes from Roxbury. And if young people can know that, they feel like, I could come out of Boston, I could be successful. She comes from here like we damn well should be celebrating her more and more and more. Monuments, murals, everything. And there’s other great people from Roxbury. New Edition, Bobby Brown , Guru from Gang Starr, growing up, he was one of my favorite artists, knowing that he’s from Boston.

Bernard: There weren’t a lot of positive things, especially when we were kids in Roxbury. People were hustling and and doing their thing. But you didn’t get a chance to see a lot of positive Black women. Those things were important to her because she realized that there were kids like her who could look at her and maybe dream. I could be bigger than where I’m born. I could be bigger than the city. I could be bigger, you know, like they could actually have a bigger dream. I think sometimes when you grow up with not a lot of means, you know, your dreams are just small enough to get out of that little spot where you’re at. And I think she was always somebody who dreamed big, you know, like my mother will go, there she goes again. You know what I mean? There she goes again. I mean, she used to tell everybody, I’m going to be famous. Just watch. I’m going to be famous, till everyone in the entire neighborhood would say it: That girl’s gonna be famous.

Siegel: So you believed her when she said it when she was younger?

Bernard: My gosh. She was my big sis. Of course, I believed. She said it. She was going to do it. And she said, Imma take you all around the world. And I’m like, okay, you know? And she did it.

Siegel: Those were the voices of Mary Gaines Bernard and Cedric "Vise1" Douglas. You can see the new Donna Summer mural along Washington Street in Nubian Square. You're listening to Morning Edition.

Donna Summer was larger than life, and the queen of disco is now immortalized in a mural that, fittingly, is also larger than life — ten times larger.

The 50-by-60-foot mural runs along the side of Black Market in Nubian Square, 2136 Washington St. in Roxbury. It’s painted black with a massive white circle at the center spotlighting an iconic image of Summer with one shoulder raised.

The artist who painted it, Cedric “Vise1” Douglas, said he listened to Summer’s music throughout the process.

“I always try to listen to the music and get connected with them,” Douglas told GBH’s Morning Edition. “I think this [mural] captures her essence: Her hair is wild, she has that pose. As an artist and as a person from Boston, I want to highlight people that are underrepresented from the community, and that’s something that’s part of my work.”

Douglas said Summer is one of many Bostonians who made it big in music and should be recognized.

“She comes from here, we damn well should be celebrating her more and more and more. Monuments, murals, everything,” Douglas said. “And there’s other great people from Roxbury: New Edition, Bobby Brown, Guru from Gang Starr. Growing up, he was one of my favorite artists, knowing that he’s from Boston.”

But Summer’s accomplishments stand out, he said.

“She did three consecutive double albums and they — all three of them — went platinum. So that’s six albums. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum. Platinum,” Douglas said.

The mural is also meaningful for Summer’s sister, Mary Bernard.

“Boston was always loving towards Donna,” Bernard said. “But to see that there in that place just, I felt like this is what she would want.”

Summer was born in Mission Hill and grew up in Orchard Park as one of seven siblings. Bernard said Roxbury was full of people “hustling and doing their thing,” and that kids in the neighborhood didn’t have many positive role models. But Summer had big dreams.

“She used to tell everybody, ‘I’m going to be famous. Just watch, I’m going to be famous,’ till everyone in the entire neighborhood would say it: 'That girl’s gonna be famous,'” Bernard said. “She realized that there were kids like her who could look at her and maybe dream: 'I could be bigger than where I’m born. I could be bigger than the city.’”

Summer died in 2012. Bernard said she thinks her sister would have loved the mural.

“She was not a person with a lot of fancy,” Bernard said. “As big as she was, she wasn’t that person, but she would know what that would mean to kids who live in that area, like the hope that it would bring in. ... It was like she actually got recognition from the people she loved.”