District 7 photo
Moses Ball: “South Central Strong” (Colden Avenue and Flower Street)
By District 7 Public Affairs
Moses Ball is a resident of South Central L.A. who wanted to create something that recognized one of the communities’ most heart wrenching problems, while inspiring us as a whole.
Here is how he describes the images in his artwork:
RECOGNIZE – On the left I show a mother mourning, representing how our community mourned the loss of Tioni Theus, a young girl who my sister counseled at her HS, who was the victim of child trafficking and her body left on the Manchester on ramp of the 110 freeway (not far from where this mural will be located). At a time when too many black women, and brown women and children in general are overlooked, I wanted to recognize Tioni’s loss.
PLANT – Next I have Ron Finley, known for The Ron Finley Project, which is teaching communities how to transform food deserts into food sanctuaries, and teaching individuals how to regenerate their lands. A member of the Destination Crenshaw Committee (beautifying the 8th district’s Crenshaw strip), Ron in the act of watering plants and buried seeds symbolizes how we must plant, nourish, and feed our community’s children. Also, a symbol of life coming after burial (of seeds) as opposed to the opposite.
GROW-Next we have a young girl and resident of the community symbolizing South Central’s growth.
RAISE – the following is a father raising up his baby girl. A lifelong commitment and showing the importance of a father in a child’s development.
PROTECT – A brother watching over his young sibling. Fully embracing being his “brother’s keeper”. His shirt represents our community. We as a community need to protect our young brothers and sisters and watch over our neighbors.
NURTURE – Our elders play a key role in making sure our children and children’s children feel loved, as well as aware of our shared histories.
STAND – We must support our children until they’re able to stand confidently. This is symbolized by a young man who has benefited from the services of the South Central Los Angeles Resource Center. An amazing organization that assists parents and their children with developmental disabilities, and who have helped my family with services for my own daughter.
FLY – This father supports his child, helping her to reach greater heights than possible by herself, and helping her to go farther than ever in life and development. The joy on the father’s face counters the mother in mourning at the far left, and his child’s presence nourishes his heart. Our children give us joy.
THRIVE – This young lady thrives creatively, dancing and choreographing her expression. A youth member benefitting from the dance program provided by A Place Called Home. A center birthed out of response to 1992’s civil unrest. For 30 years, A Place Called Home has been serving South Central youth ages eight to mid-twenties and their families through education and arts programs, mental health counseling, mentorship, job readiness, college scholarships, civic engagement, and more. At their core , they strive to be a place where young people who face tremendous challenges can experience the safety, joy, and opportunity that should be a part of every childhood.
Our neighborhood is a place of pain, struggle, resilience, community, endurance, and ultimately Joy.
For my community engagement, I’d like to interview SCLARC and A Place Called Home community members to talk about what they’d like to see in a piece that represents the neighborhood, and how they’d like to be represented. I’d like to talk to more community holders and stakeholders about child trafficking and our communities’ struggles. Bringing about solutions, and inspiration so that we can all come to a place of joy.
Every community mural should be built with the community itself, and I’m committed to that.
FABRICATION – The wall will be cleaned, primed and the mural will either be completely painted on the wall or painted on polytab and fused to the wall with Nova Gel, a strong binder that fuses the Polytab to the wall and protects the painting at the same time. In either case I would coat the entire mural in an anti-graffiti coating where any graffiti could easily be sprayed off.