Mamie Nichols

This is a replacement for the 1998 mural, People of Point Breeze, then located on an old furniture store destroyed in 2007 to build new housing and community buildings. The original, also painted by David McShane, highlighted the figures of Marian Anderson, The Brooks Brothers, and Mamie Nichols – all born in the Point Breeze area. This mural focuses only on Mamie Nichols to give full tribute to her and what she meant to the community.

The artist used the same reference photos he took in the late 1990’s when painting the original mural but changed the pattern on Mamie’s dress from polka dots to intertwining flowers. The background tablecloth-like pattern symbolizes important work she accomplished over the years to assist people with housing. The thistle at right symbolizes how she, too, was a beautiful flower who could persist and survive under harsh conditions. The new Mamie is now located on The Mamie Nichols Center, current home of Diversified Community Services, an organization assisting with neighborhood improvement, children and youth development, and adult/family services in Point Breeze.

The original 1998 project was sponsored by the Welcome America Celebration, to highlight five community neighborhood festivals for the 4th of July weekend that year. Each festival neighborhood received a mural to help celebrate and Point Breeze was one of those communities selected. The Point Breeze Performing Arts Center gathered community representatives to plan festivities and the mural theme, which was to show these prominent local artists for ‘the arts for social change’ (there is no existing photo of the original mural). Marian Anderson, who was born and raised a few blocks from the mural site, used her voice to break through color barriers existing at the time. The Heath Brothers – Jimmy, Percy, Albert – also raised in the area, broke new ground as jazz musicians. Mamie Nichols, the long-time activist, was still alive at that time. A fenced in community garden was created below the mural.