Churches’ Tribute to King : Artists Transform Graffiti Wall Into Freedom Mural

The corner at Imperial Avenue and 32nd Street is a long way from Selma, Ala., or Johannesburg, South Africa, but the spirit of equality and freedom for the world’s oppressed is no less real at this once-graffiti-ridden intersection in San Diego.

As Jan. 20 and the first national holiday commemorating the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. approached, church leaders and members of community service groups in the predominantly black neighborhood decided they should do more than prop up their feet on their day off. A tribute was in order.

The tribute is taking shape in an 8-by-200-foot mural on a parking lot retaining wall at Imperial and 32nd that will feature a panorama of history’s peacemakers, from Jesus Christ to Bishop Desmond Tutu.

“We wanted to make it a community remembrance for Dr. King, not just for a day, but for all year. To live the dream, we have to keep it before us,” said Deacon Marvin Threatt of Christ the King Catholic Church. The church, at 29 32nd St., is one of two that put up $200 each for paint and supplies. The other is Israelite Church of God in Christ, 3195 L St.

The half-done mural was publicized earlier this week to coincide with Tutu’s arrival in San Diego today. The 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. to students at the UC San Diego campus, an appearance that is part of an 18-day fund-raising tour of the United States that began Jan. 8 in Washington.

Tutu’s message is international, stepping across cultural and racial boundaries, as is the mural’s theme, Threatt said.

“We’re all in the struggle for liberation together. It’s not just a black struggle; many people are oppressed,” Threatt said of the brightly colored montage that is to include portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe--who worked for American Indians’ civil rights--and Philippines opposition leaders Benigno and Corazon Aquino, along with those of King and his wife, Coretta. In all, there will be 12 portraits.

When completed next month, the mural will have cost $1,000 to $2,000, Threatt estimated. Funds to complete the project are being raised by the Community Coalition for the Martin Luther King Jr. Mural--representatives of the churches and about five service groups--through individual donations.

The visionary behind the commemorative memorial is Mario Torero, a local artist who has donated his time to turn the scarred wall of graffiti into a stretch of animated history. He said the project grew out of a simple request by churchgoers at Christ the King, where he is a member, for a painting of King to hang in their chapel. If a painting could inspire the congregation, then a mural might galvanize the neighborhood, he said.

“When the Lord calls you, you gotta do the best you can with what you’ve got wherever you are. I feel the spirit is moving through me,” Torero said of the months he has spent on the mural. He also is co-director of Acevedo Gallery International in Mission Hills.

“At one time we were afraid to put up political statements because it was bad for business, but that’s not the case today. The world is coming into consciousness; they’re waking up,” he said. Behind him on the wall was a completed portrait of Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned black nationalist Nelson Mandela, holding a red banner emblazoned with the word “Justice.”

Torero enlisted the talent of Chantal Lenoir Cehel, a visiting French painter and friend, to help sketch the mural. Work on the wall began Jan. 15, King’s actual birthday, and is scheduled to be finished by the end of February, which is Black History Month. The two churches are planning dedication ceremonies.

“I liked his idea. It’s an international idea for liberty,” Cehel said of the collection of famous portraits looming above the sidewalk. “I think it’s a good method to express (historical) art in the streets.”

All painting on the mural has been done spontaneously by volunteers--neighbors, friends, passers-by, children walking home from nearby schools.

“It’s vitally important (to involve the children). You can’t know who you are unless you know where you come from,” Threatt said. “The most important thing is that the dream never die.”