Murals of Influential Black Leaders Overlook Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr, Thurgood Marshall, Harriet Tubman

If you walk past the intersection of Herkimer Street and Nostrand Avenue in the neighborhood of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York, you'll come face to face(s) with a row of incredible painted murals depicting significant Black leaders. Pictured above are Fredrick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Harriet Tubman who all made unimaginable sacrifices to stand in opposition of a violently oppressive social structure had monumental impact in advancing civil rights. Though this art may not seem explicitly religious at first glance, it reminded me of the writings of American psychologist and philosopher, James Williams. He considers god figures as projections of humans’ own identities, needs, and desires. In Lectures XIV and XV of The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), Williams said:

The gods we stand by are the gods we need and can use, the gods whose demands on us are reinforcements of our demands on ourselves and on one another. What I then propose to do is, briefly stated, to test saintliness by common sense, to use human standards to help us decide how far the religious life commends itself as an ideal kind of human activity.

The murals were created in 2009 by the NYC Justice Corps, which is based out of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. The organization stemmed from Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission on Economic Opportunity, designed to “fight the cycle of poverty in New York City through innovative programs that build human capital and improve financial security.” Specifically, the Commission targets young adults in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods who are disconnected from employment and education, and often disproportionately affected by a predatory justice system. According to NYC Community Health Profiles 2015, the area of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights has an incarceration rate of 169 out of every 100,000 people, which is almost double the citywide rate of 93 out of every 100,000 people. High incarceration rates are directly correlated with rates of substance abuse and addiction, mental illness, and other health conditions. Crown Heights' population is no exception: it sees roughly double the citywide average amount of yearly drug-related and psychiatric hospitalizations. As these things work together to diminish individuals' abilities to pursue or succeed in employment opportunities, a condition of poverty and extreme physical and emotional unwellness is perpetuated. In a concentrated effort to break this vicious cycle, a team was built in 2006 with volunteers from the NYC Department of Correction and John Jay College of Criminal Justice to develop initiatives to support young adults through the challenges of community reentry and inspire a sense of civic responsibility and accountability to their communities.

One of the most significant sources of empowerment is representation. Seeing a person who you feel to reflect a component of your identity is extremely formative in building internal understanding of personal potential. In a neighborhood that is 64% Black (per 2015 Community Health Profile), it must stand as a reminder of strength and progress and a source of collective empowerment. If a community stands by Fredrick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Harriet Tubman as gods, in Williams’ terms, it may be implied that their exemplary lives of sacrifice and commitment to improving wrongful social conditions are interpreted as ‘an ideal kind of human activity.’ These leaders were not all belonging to one single religion, but were united by ideals of equality and justice that transcend doctrinal barriers of religious institutions.

The murals maintain a solemnity in the artistic uniformity. All figures are displayed in neat, professional attire with somber, dignified facial expressions. The busts are outlined in white, which serves to create a saint-like effect reminiscent of classical halo rings around the heads or bodies in religious iconography. It reminds me so much of intricate murals of Catholic saints I’ve seen painted on the walls and ceilings of cathedrals. Additionally, the overall effect of the murals fits Williams’ criteria of what may be considered religious. In Lecture II of The Varieties of Religious Experience, he writes, "There must be something solemn, serious, and tender about any attitude which we denominate religious. If glad, it must not grin or snicker; if sad, it must not scream or curse." There certainly is a specific reverence produced by looking at a sequence of celebrated individuals and pondering their achievements and sacrifices. It is not joyful or playful, it is weighted and sacred and provokes a sentiment of gratitude and also inward reflection on how you personally can emanate the attributes and efforts of these individuals. I felt these things equally in the situation of observing Catholic saints in a cathedral as I do walking down Nostrand Ave every morning on the way to the A train and pausing to observe these icons.

These murals effectively challenge what is commonly considered to be religious material or righteous iconography, and remind observers of the objective righteousness in pursuing equality for all humankind. They were designed and created specifically to inspire the majority-Black community of Crown Heights and invite all observers to consider the lives and achievements of these leaders.