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“Shame on us if we can’t pass on a world of beauty,” the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Executive Director Jane Golden said June 6 from the auditorium of Edward Bok High School, 1901 S. Ninth St., touching on aesthetic and attitudinal applications of radiance.
Siding with her condemnation of neglect for pulchritude, her East Passyunk Crossing listeners cheered as the guest lauded their involvement with the Anti-Defamation League. The morning gathering celebrated the site’s designation as a No Place for Hate location, with the unveiling of two murals and the distributing of a comic book furthering the kudos.
Golden’s 28-year-old entity oversees 3,663 murals and relished a chance to deal with Bok, which the Anti-Defamation League and PECO adopted last year. The No Place for Hate philosophy of challenging “anti-Semitism, racism, hatred and bigotry in all forms” has aided area schools since 2005 and has come to include 200 regional facilities. Attendees of a diverse educational dwelling, the Bok learners accepted the task of proving that differences foster beauty instead of hampering it.
To do so, they united with artists Delia King, Sabina Louise Pierce and Jarreau Wimberly. The students’ fall input helped King to plot a mandala, a two-dimensional design that Buddhists and Hindus employ in sacred art.
“It is a way toward enlightenment,” King said of the project, which emerged in greater detail during her Jan. 16 onsite visit for the 17th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.
Numerous components and colors comprise the creation, but King knew the assisting pupils’ silhouettes would earn plaudits from the student body. After a fervent countdown, everyone let out an assortment of surprised sentiments when the final work became visible in the foyer. Eleven etchings with images inside them lined two walls, with Mahatma Gandhi’s “I claim that human mind or human society is not divided into watertight compartments called social, political and religious. All act and react upon one another.” wrapping around the entire space.
“This day will go a long way toward increasing equity, participation and tolerance,” Golden said.
She had company as an enthused authority figure. 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla noted the gravity of accepting diversity as a slideshow depicted a Bok trip to Washington, D.C. to learn how to enhance feelings of camaraderie.
“This is such an important time for exploring other cultures,” the resident of Front Street and Snyder Avenue said.
He joined with No Place for Hate project director Lisa Friedlander to hold up a banner cementing Bok’s status for next year.
“We must take the time to interact with people regardless of their circumstances to make them, and us, feel safe and included,” Friedlander said, adding she expects to return next year to reaffirm Bok as a harmonious spot.
That would delight co-principal Barbara McCreery, who acted as master of ceremonies.
“We have no choice but to enjoy our roles as parts of the global community,” she said.
The two supporting organizations picked her institution to expand its reputation as an eclectic territory. Seventy-three percent of Bok’s 900 learners are African-American, according to the School District of Philadelphia’s website, but the remaining figures blend a mix of nations, as does the neighborhood. The management of the cultures impressed PECO’s manager of corporate relations Jeff Gordon.
“This is the best school partner we could have had,” he said. “Bok, you rock.”
Pierce admired the school and its surrounding community, too. The photographer captured student images and those of area immigrants, including many of Burmese stock, for a photo collage mural that adorns a wall across the street from Bok.
“Many cultures exist but it is important to note we all share the human condition,” Pierce said of the towering product of her affinity for inclusivity.
Those of Albanian, Cambodian, Mexican and Turkish descent, among others, appear on the wall, which features “Choose Love” in multiple languages.
“That is such a fitting piece of advice,” Friedlander said.
She enlisted junior Ernest Graham to deliver auditorium remarks on the Anti-Defamation League, with the youngster acknowledging its consummate approach to barring hatred from civic matters. The soon-to-be president of Bok’s chapter, Graham has come to be a highly respected member of the school, which marks a far cry from his initial identity.
“Let’s just say I wasn’t the most popular guy,” the resident of 20th and Tasker streets said.
Graham has never found himself contending with hatred, thankfully. He said his adjustment to life at Bok has given him outlets to express individuality and find himself amid what he feels has been a successful secondary career.
“We are very accepting of differences at Bok,” the Point Breeze inhabitant said.
His involvement with the organization has provided him pride as has his presence at the Houston Center, 2029 S. Eighth St. He and the Houston Street B-Boys performed at Saturday’s Fleisher Art Memorial ARTspiration Festival along the 700 block of Catharine Street, giving him another reason to admire the expression of humanity through art.
A similar attraction guided illustrator Wimberly, who facilitated workshops with students to tackle diversity. Their interaction led him to craft what project manager Kevin A. Brown terms an “innovative graphic novel.” In the work, a high school athlete battles through emotions to gauge his place in the world and his allowance of difference.
“I tried to make it a powerful display of conflict resolution,” Wimberly said of the work, which students distributed to their peers and began discussing immediately.
The trio of projects pleased Golden, who encouraged the youths to promote artistic expression, especially when facing a crisis. That art might lose a place in the public sphere registers as her greatest fear.
“Art is about giving a voice,” she said, “and every citizen deserves access to it.”
Graham, a participant in the mandala creation, could not have agreed more.
“What we have here will help to explore a basic message,” he said. “Even if people are not like you, you must respect them.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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