Pittsburgh invited to make a mark for change through 10 murals
The larger-than-life painting of two Black women on the Center that Cares building in the Hill District represents much more thant a pretty picture.
“This mural shows the beauty in Black culture, and that there is a solution to gun violence and systemic racism,” said the Rev. Glenn Garrett Grayson Sr., senior pastor at Wesley Center AME Zion Church of the Hill District, and executive director of the center. “We want to reduce the hurt.”
Grayson’s son Jeron, 18, was killed by gun violence. The unveiling of the mural will be Oct. 17 — the same day he died 10 years ago.
It is one of 10 murals throughout the city for the Pittsburgh Solidarity for Change Community Mural Project led by artist Kyle Holbrook, who is originally from Wilkinsburg.
It’s an extension of the Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project that Holbrook founded. Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project (MLK) is an organization, which focuses on the arts, youth development, and education. The initials of the late Martin Luther King Jr. are by design, Holbrook said.
The project is “designed to galvanize our city across neighborhood, racial, religious and socio-economic barriers artistically surrounding police brutality, systemic racism and gun violence.”
Pittsburghers are invited to help paint or add a message. Four murals have been completed — two in the Strip District, one in Oakland and Uptown. The Highland Park mural will be installed later. Building owners gave permission for the murals. No permits are needed, Holbrook said. He chose locations in highly visible areas. More than 200 artists applied and 30 were selected.
Messages such as “Be kind” and “Trust” and “Equality” are written in orange, the color of gun violence awareness.
Holbrook, who has painted murals all over the world, came up with the idea after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. He also wants the city to remember Pittsburghers impacted by gun violence.
“I saw how the country was divided, and Pittsburgh is my home, so I wanted to do something,” said Holbrook, who said he was a victim of police brutality, two decades ago in Cleveland. “This project is about solutions. When people write a message they are working together and that’s unity.”
Holbrook is partnering with the Social Justice Institute and criminology majors — future police officers — at Carlow University in Oakland. Kara Dyer, of the Hill District, is a senior studying criminology at Carlow. She is interning with the project and chose equality, accountability and action as her key words.
“I hope with all of the energy this project is creating that it will continue to spread and not just while we are doing the murals, for a long time after that,” she said.
Matt Speck from Oakland was working on one of the Strip District murals. He grew up in Central Pennsylvania and said he saw plenty of racial injustice.
“I am proud to help spread some positivity in Pittsburgh,” Speck said.
A mural on the side of Salem’s Market and Grill in the Strip shows hands entwined.
A mural at the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood is called the “Liberation Wall.”
“These images represent the individuals and the role they played in America,” said the founder of the association, Rashad Byrdsong. “These individuals fought against injustice. It’s a great tool for socialization and can create some talking points.”
Some of the painting is freehand with a brush while others are done with spray paint. They are created from photographs.
Each mural will have a bar code so visitors can listen on their smartphones to history about it. Holbrook hopes to have the project finished by February 2021 for Black History Month.
The recordings will be done by Paradise Gray, a blind artist, photographer and videographer, from the North Side.
“I teach young people art as a way to let their energy and emotions out,” said Gray, co-founder of 1Hood Media, a collective of socially conscious artists and activists. “It brings life to something and it gives them an alternative to drugs and violence. You don’t have to be an artist to be a part of this project. Everyone can contribute. As a community we can come together and it reminds us of what we have in common rather than driving wedges between us on things we don’t agree on.”
When you take part in something like this project it creates a camaraderie with people, Gray said.
“Pittsburgh is the city of bridges,” Gray said. “It is time we stop burning them and start walking across them.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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