Hope Blooms With Flower Mural

With smooth, easy strokes, 13-year-old Hakimah Muhammad helped turn a charred wall of a riot-damaged building into hues of happiness and hope.

Hakimah is one of a dozen young people who came together to paint a flower mural on the wall of 43rd Place Collateral Lenders, a pawnshop at 43rd Place and Crenshaw Boulevard.

The mural is a project of Urban Pride, or U.P., a group formed after the April-May riots to help unite Los Angeles’ ethnic communities.

“This is a chance for the children to express themselves about their feelings from the unrest,” said David Greenberg, the group’s executive director.

U.P. has organized four murals throughout the city since early October and has plans for 50 more. Children from schools around the mural sites work on the paintings with assistance from local artists, U.P. volunteers and residents. Discussions on the students’ feelings about the riots, the rebuilding of Los Angeles and the murals’ message precede each painting session.

“There’s chaos and turmoil in the world, but there should be peace and love, that’s what the flowers represent to me,” said Karl Davis, a 17-year-old senior at Manual Arts High School.

The mural project is funded by a $3,000 grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, with paint donated by Standard Brands Paint Co. Youngsters have completed murals at La Cienega and Venice boulevards, La Brea Avenue and Pico Boulevard, 58th Street and Western Avenue, and Detroit Street and Beverly Boulevard.