Form and Power: Black Murals in Los Angeles

Sunrise on Central Avenue

Sunrise on Central Avenue, located inside the City First Bank (formerly the Broadway Federal Bank) at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Figueroa Street in South Central Los Angeles, praises the African American community for their powerful, unbreakable bond that developed throughout history and their achievements. The mural’s title acknowledges Central Avenue, an area in Downtown LA that has been a major hub for Black cultural production, especially jazz, since the early 20th century. Black icons in art are positioned across the mural, including architect Paul Williams, jazz artist Duke Ellington, and Mahalia Jackson, who was a gospel singer. The Broadway Federal Bank’s founder, H. Claude Johnson, is centered in the middle of the mural as Wyatt highlights the success of a Black-owned and Black-founded business. Hispanic labor activist Cesar Chavez is also included in the mural to express the racial unity between African Americans and Hispanics and to acknowledge Hispanic customers as they enter the bank.
 
The original Broadway Federal Bank building was destroyed during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, during which many communities including South Central were severely damaged. Chairman Paul Hudson contributed to rebuilding the bank where in 1999 the bank reopened as the City First Bank in its current location. The bank commissioned Wyatt, an African American muralist who specializes in illustrating historical figures, to produce a work that would symbolically tell customers that the bank continues to welcome African American and Latino customers despite having no permanent location for many years.

Written by Naomi Ramos Benitez, c/o ‘24

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