Artist Helps Woman Honor Memory of Slain Daughter

“It’s Corie! It’s my baby. He has captured my baby’s spirit.”

That was the tearful reaction of Loretta Thomas-Davis on Wednesday when she saw artist Peter Max’s portraits of her daughter, Corie Williams, the 17-year-old student killed as she rode home on a bus from a Compton high school in January.

Thomas-Davis and Max, who became famous in the 1960s for his wildly colorful paintings, held a press conference in Centennial High’s library to announce a “Stop the Violence, Start the Peace” billboard campaign.

The campaign, which will begin in April, will be funded through public and private donations. A scholarship named in honor of the popular student who was slain by gang gunfire also will be established.

The Corie Williams Scholarship is aimed at assisting inner-city high school graduates who plan to pursue higher education in the areas of public service such as medicine, law, education or social work. Corie planned to become a medical technician.

“This is for Corie and all the Cories that have gone before,” said Centennial Principal Carrie Allen, who started the news conference by unveiling four original portraits of Williams, as well the original artwork that will be copied and used as a billboard throughout the city.

The billboard, painted in the bright pyschedelic style that propelled Max to fame, is modeled after the $1 bill.

“I was driving alone when the idea of a dollar bill with Corie, flowers and birds on it instead of George Washington came to me,” said Max, a New York City resident. He said he was inspired to do something after hearing that Bill Cosby, whose son was murdered the same day as Corie, had called Thomas-Davis to offer condolences.

Max, 55, said he did not fully comprehend the tragedy until he met Corie’s mother.

“When I saw those tears, those tears of Loretta’s, that’s when it really hit me hard,” he said. “That’s when it got to my heart.”

Contributions can be made to the Corie Williams Scholarship Fund c/o Family Savings Bank, 1902 W. Rosecrans Ave., Compton, 90220.