Murals of Bronzeville

As I discussed in an earlier post entitled "Some Historical Context", the community mural movement began in an African-American community with the Wall of Respect back in 1967. The location of that mural was at 43rd and Langley, which is located within the Bronzeville neighborhood bounds; meaning that Bronzeville is where the community mural movement all began. Needless to say, I was really excited to explore this community where this movement was birthed and check out what murals existed there now.

Bronzeville is a historic neighborhood in Chicago. Between 1910 and 1920, many African-American workers migrated to Chicago to escape the oppressive conditions of living in the south. This is, of course, commonly referred to as the "Great Migration". Bronzeville was the neighborhood that many of these black Americans settled in during this time, holding hopes for a better life in the city. That being said, Bronzeville is home to many famous African-Americans in history like Ida B. Wells, Nat King Cole, and Louis Armstrong. The migration brought entrepreneurs, musicians, and politicians to Bronzeville, resulting in cultural vibrancy and economic prosperity to the community.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, Bronzeville became a thriving middle-class neighborhood, but once the Great Depression hit, the black business owners were hit the hardest. This in addition to racist city officials led to segregated communities where black residents were systematically forced to exist in poor living conditions. In 1941 Ida B. Wells' public housing efforts sought to provide affordable housing to the community; however, this resulted in overcrowding and crime. Currently, the neighborhood is becoming more revitalized mostly due to those who want to preserve the neighborhood for its historic significance.

To get to Bronzeville, I took the Pink Line to the Green Line. As soon as I transferred to the Green Line, I noticed I was one of the only white people on the train and the rest of the CTA riders were black. As we got closer to the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), I noticed there were quite a few folks who appeared to be students, of varying ethnicities. I exited the Green Line at 35th-Bronzeville IIT and began walking towards the White Sox baseball stadium, in hopes of finding a mural that featured prominent African-American baseball players. To get to the stadium, I crossed part of the IIT campus, which was very nicely maintained and had adequate infrastructure like street lights and modern-looking buildings.

I walked to the White Sox stadium in hopes of finding the mural, but had no luck. There were statues of baseball players outside the stadium, but no mural.

I checked the viaducts on either side of the stadium and found this mural, which features baseball players, but is not the mural I had in mind, which features African-American ball players.

I decided to continue on my search and crossed over the Dan Ryan Highway as I walked east along 35th Street.

I just want to mention something my teacher, Ms. Dorothy, mentioned during a tour of Bronzeville that we took as a class earlier in the program. She explained that many Bronzeville residents were displaced when the White Sox Stadium was built, with the promise that they would get compensated. But they never did. So while the White Sox Stadium could be seen as a community asset in terms of generating economic revenue for the neighborhood, the history of what happened in order for the stadium to be built implies that perhaps it is generating economic revenue and neighborhood pride, but for who? Also, I learned on my walk that the White Sox stadium is just on the outskirts of Bronzeville, as Bronezville and the stadium are separated by the Dan Ryan Highway.

I was more in the heart of the Broneville community once I hit 35th and State Street. It was here that I saw the mural below. This mural features prominant African-Americans, both past and present, including Mahalia Jackson, Etta Barnett, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, R. Kelly, Chante Savage, and Duke Ellington (last two are hidden because I couldn't get an angle that included the entire mural). This mural is under the "L" station. I am not sure who painted it, or when, but there is an acknowledgement of the Chicago Transit Authority and the Illinois Institute of Technology, so I am guessing those are two of the sources for funding for this mural.

35th and State.

I continued down 35th Street until I hit King Drive. Along the way I passed the Chicago Police Department Headquarters, many local businesses, and schools. I took the 3 bus going south on King drive in an effort to get to an area where I knew there would be a few murals. As I waited for the bus, I noticed I was the only white person in the vicinity; the community seemed to be made up of majority black folks. I think this is the most racially homogeneous neighborhood I have encountered while in Chicago so far. Everybody waiting for the bus was kind to one another and strangers often struck up conversation with one another. I think Bronzeville might be the most friendly and extroverted neighborhood I have been to so far--I never observed strangers striking up conversation while waiting for buses in the many other neighborhoods I have passed through during my time in Chicago.

I took the bus from 35th street to 40th, where I got off in search of the next mural. What I found was the mural below, entitled "Have a Dream". This mural was painted in 1995 by Rev. C. Siddha Sila Webber, who is one of the founding members of the Chicago Public Art Group. This mural was recently restored in 2015, adding President Obama's portrait and the Jackie Robinson Little League team. Below my photograph of this mural is a picture of the mural in 2013, when it was weathered and in desperate need of restoration. This is a prime example of how mural restoration is vital to keep these community assets preserved and intact to continue inspiring community members for years to come.

East 40th and South King Drive.

Have a Dream mural in 2013.

The Have a Dream mural not only features pictures of prominent African-American figures but also includes text. This is the first mural I have seen that features this amount of text on the mural itself. The text includes an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speech that the mural is then named after. A quote by Marianne Williamson that is often attributed to Nelson Mandela is at the center of the mural. Interestingly, this mural also labels certain people that are painted on it, pictured below. I believe this is the first time that I have seen individuals who are labeled on the mural itself, so the viewer can know who is pictured.

In addition to passages associated with leaders like King and Mandela, there are also excerpts from religious text, like the Lords Prayer. This mural is definitely designed to memorialize important figures in the African-American community as well as promote a religious message to do God's will. Overall the mural serves to inspire and empower.

Across the street from Have a Dream was another mural by Rev. C. Siddha Sila Webber. The writing includes Pslam 23-28 as well as text that states that we were sent by the Creator to create. The mural also includes ancient Egyptian figures and symbols. This mural was painted in 1981 and is called The Earth is Not Our Home. I have a suspicion that both these murals were restored around the same time.

Just a little bit about the artist of these two murals--C. Siddha Webber is a muralist, poet, musician, and theologian who has been making art and poetry in Chicago since the 1960s. He participated in creating the Wall of Respect, so this artist was one of the founders of the community mural movement--so cool! Webber began painting murals in an effort to create change in communities on the south side that were experiencing a lot of violence and gang activity especially in the 1960s and 1970s. His picture is featured below.

As I continued to walk down S. King Drive I noticed that there were a lot of churches. Below is a picture of Morningstar Baptist Church of Chicago that is celebrating its 100 year anniversary. It is clear that religion and particularly Christianity are a big part of this community and have been for many years. For this reason it is not surprising that religious themes are reflected in the murals.

The next mural that I encountered was actually a photo mural, on S. King Drive and 43rd. This mural is a part of an ongoing installment organized by urban planner Chris Devins, who wants to put up murals of 7 famous Bronzeville artists, writers, and musicians, including Nat King Cole, as pictured below. Devins' intention is to strengthen the identity of the neighborhood. He believes that building on the history of the neighborhood will convince developers to preserve this history as well rather than tearing down historic buildings to make way for new things. Devins is also a part of the initiative to put photos of 37 historical Bronzeville residents on the outside of the new Mariano's that just opened recently. This is an example of how murals can act to beautify a neighborhood, bring it value, and recognize its historical significance. These murals will greatly effect how this neighborhood is developed in the future, ensuring that Bronzeville's history is preserved for years to come.

S. King Drive and 43rd.

This next mural is called The History of the Packinghouse Worker, painted by John Walker in 1974. When it was first painted, this building was a union office, but now it belongs to the Chicago Housing Authority, who funded the restoration of the mural in 1998. On the left, workers are confronting their bosses, demanding a union contract on top of a chess board. The right side of the mural depicts men working in the meat packing house.

49th and Wabash.

Here is a close up of the left side. Many people consider John Walker to be the Diego Rivera of Chicago because the themes of worker's rights and the painting style are very similar.

I think it is important to note that even though Bronzeville has plenty of murals, this neighborhood is a host to dozens of sculptures and statues as well. This was a reminder that murals are just one form of public art that can work to memorialize people, histories, or culture. The statues in the photograph below work to memorialize famous African-American musicians like Ella Fitzgerald. I also passed a statue on King Drive that acknowledges the black veterans who served in World War I.

As I noticed all of these public art works I was reminded that different communities have different ways of preserving their culture and history. While I think Pilsen and Humboldt Park utilize murals primarily as a way to preserve and promote their cultural identity, I noticed that Bronzeville was more of a mixture of murals and sculptures.

Bronzeville has murals that span the decades. From the Wall of Respect in the 1960s through to the photo mural installation that is currently going on, it is clear that murals have been present in this neighborhood throughout the years. I think it is clear especially from the photo murals that Chris Devins is currently installing that murals can work to preserve the history of a space that makes it more valuable and therefore less likely to be torn down to make way for new things. In this example, murals act as a means of protecting certain people from being displaced by developers because the mural provides a connection between current day Bronzeville residents and their predecessors. I think this is an excellent example of the power that murals can have.

Sources:

http://www.choosechicago.com/neighborhoods-and-communities/bronzeville/

http://www.thebarcc.org/history.php

http://wikitravel.org/en/Chicago/Bronzeville

chicagopublicart.blogspot.com/2013/08/have-dream.html

https://wordssoundspictures.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/a-little-landsharking/

https://never-the-same.org/interviews/c-siddha-webber/

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160307/bronzeville/new-marianos-feature-photo-murals-of-famous-bronzeville-residents

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140812/bronzeville/nat-king-cole-mural-part-of-mans-effort-boost-bronzevilles-image

https://madaboutthemural.wordpress.com/category/bronzeville/