In the Spirit of Contribution
1 media/15-1096.jpg 2021-04-05T20:24:04-07:00 Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e 38706 4 Bernard HoyesLa Salle Ave. btwn 23rd and 24th StsM
1990 plain 2021-05-18T14:53:23-07:00 USC Digital Library 1990 (Artist) Hoyes, Bernard 34.035229, -118.305888 Dunitz, Robin J. Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e
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In the Spirit of Contribution
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Bernard Hoyes
La Salle Ave. btwn 23rd and 24th StsM
1990 plain 2021-05-18T15:57:29-07:00 1990 34.035229, -118.305888 In the Spirit of Contribution was painted by Jamaican-born artist Bernard Hoyes in 1990. In this mural, Hoyes celebrates notable African American and Hispanic figures, who made significant contributions to the struggles against colonialism and racism in the Americas. The mural contains a series of panels that read one after another, with each panel depicting notable achievements made by minorities throughout history. The mural is strategically split down the middle, with one half of the wall dedicated to Mexican figures and the other dedicated to Black figures. On the right side of his mural, Hoyes depicts prominent Mexican heroes, including Mexico’s 26th President Benito Juarez; the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; and labor leader Cesar Chavez. The left side of the mural is dedicated to African American figures such as jazz legend Duke Ellington; artist and activist Paul Robeson; and Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. The two sides of this mural succinctly come together to form a single, harmonious mural, that symbolizes the long-standing unity between Chicano and Black Americans.
The construction of this mural was sponsored by Reverend Cecil Murray and the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, whose names are painted above the mural. To aid Bernard Hoyes on this project, the church employed community youth, including African-American and Latino gang members. The mural was strategically placed in LA’s West Adams District, a historic neighborhood in South Los Angeles that has a large Black and Hispanic population. At the time, the mural acted as a unifying force that brought together the Black and Chicano residents of South LA. Today, the mural continues to encourage harmony and unity among the local residents, while also paying homage to some of the notable Black and Mexican visionaries throughout history.
Written by Annas Omar, c/o ‘24
