PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A pair of unrelated community mural projects on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service honored the life and legacy of the civil rights leader — one by highlighting the ongoing crisis of gun violence, the other by capturing the hopes and dreams of children for a better Philadelphia.
Columbia North YMCA (1400 North Broad Street) in North Philadelphia collaborated with Mural Arts Philadelphia and state Rep. Malcom Kenyatta on a project using art to bring the community together to talk about preventing gun violence and to help grieving families find support among others who have lost a loved one.
King himself was a victim of gun violence. In 1968, he was shot and killed as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
“Even though we know how he died, we don’t talk enough that Martin Luther King was killed by gun violence,” said artist Zarinah Lomax.
The walls of the gym were lined with paintings of people killed by gun violence. And guests were invited to design and paint an interactive mural — as a tool to help them deal with the grief gun violence leaves behind.
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“What we’re doing is channeling our emotions on canvas,” said Rachael Reyes-Vazquez, an artist with Mural Arts. “Guests color the canvas and fill it up with what they took from the discussion.”
She said the mural will be displayed in a location where people in the community can go to reflect on King’s life and legacy for inspiration to help them through trauma.
The event was also an opportunity for service organizations to connect with people who may need help handling their grief.
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“This means so much to me, to be here on Martin Luther King Day,” said Tahira Fortune with the organization Voices by Choices. “It’s very inspiring to me.”
Fortune lost her son Samir to gun violence. She came out to tell families and individuals affected by gun violence that there are resources available to them for help.
“I have 40 moms that meet and have a healing support group,” she said.
Taking time on Martin Luther King Day of Service to do something in support of gun violence prevention may even help save the next great leader, Fortune said.
Kids share their hopes and dreams
The Please Touch Museum celebrated King’s life and legacy with a collaborative arts and crafts project for kids, focusing on their hopes, dreams and aspirations for the city.
“We created this amazing mural of Dr. King, and for the last week, kids have been coming to the museum and writing down their hopes and dreams for Philadelphia,” said the museum’s Patricia Wellenbach.
Each of those little notes is then added to the growing, multicolored collage.
Wellenbach said goals of the “I Have a Dream” mural project included creating a space to inspire kindness and community and amplifying the voices of children. She says the mural shows kids have a lot to say.
“Having a clean neighborhood, having a safe street, making guns go away — this is what 5-, 6-, 7-year-olds are talking about. It’s on their minds,” said Wellenbach.
“What better way for grown ups to get inspired about what we should be focusing on than from kids?”
Jesse Petrillo, who helped his 5-year-old son Luca with his contribution to the mural, said he wants his son to follow the legacy of Dr. King and to know kindness.
“Especially with two young kids, watching them show kindness to others and following in the footsteps of Dr. King is amazing to see,” Petrillo said.
"In the times we’re in right now, being kind to other people is of the utmost importance for everybody, I feel."
Asked why it’s important to be kind to people, Luca said, “Because then they’ll be happy.”