The Faces That Shape Us

The Faces That Shape Us are two murals by artists Ernel Martinez and Keir Johnston is located in Philadelphia’s Southwest Center City neighborhood. Owner Kenny Gamble’s objective was to beautify this playground for the 600 students at the nearby Universal Charter School. The murals feature portraits of notable Black men and women leaders alongside poetry by Nina “Lyrispect” Ball and Perry “Vision” DiVirgilo.

The West wall features notable Black men:
WEB DuBois
George Washington Carver
Kenny Gamble
Fredrick Douglas
Thurgood Marshall
Octavius Catto
James Baldwin
Dr Emmett Chapelle

The East wall features notable Black women:
Faatima Gamble
C. Dolores Tucker
Bessie Coleman
Shakira Hinton
Judge Federica Jackson