Heavy Blanket

The mural is on a free-standing wall at Smith Playground. The horizontal wall is primarily occupied by a reclining African American male figure, painted in black and white, with a gold pillow/halo behind his head. He is covered in a blanket composed of imagery from four cultures that were explored in the curriculum about tolerance that was written to complement and support this mural. The cultures represented — African American, Japanese, Puerto Rican and Native American — were chosen for their distinct experiences with intolerance in this country. The figure is looking upwards, and the sky is full of golden text, which came directly from workshops about stereotyping at St. Gabriel’s Hall and Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center. The young men chose words to describe themselves.