John Lewis HERO Mural – Rededication

Remember, look up.

By Gene Kansas

July 30, 2021

Hello.  I am Gene Kansas.  I’m from New Orleans, have called Atlanta home for 26 years, and have a company committed to cultural development.  In Sweet Auburn we’ve had the honor of leading the historic preservation of the Atlanta Daily World Building, the joy of helping to bring new restaurants and businesses to downtown Atlanta, and with great pride, collaborated on the adaptive reuse of the Southern School Book Building at 135 Auburn Avenue where Congressman Lewis held office as Chair of SNCC in 1963, and now operates as Constellations, a shared workspace providing a platform of support to 20 extraordinary companies engaged in civic and social difference-making.  Today, it makes me incredibly proud to offer reflections about Congressman Lewis and the cultural development of this beautiful mural we helped bring to life.     

As cultural developers, our company first considers the things we as people enjoy together.  Art, literature, music, film, sport, festival, theatre, and dance to name a few.  This is our passion, and our purpose.  Paintings, like the inspiring John Lewis HERO mural soaring above us, ceremonies such as today’s rousing re-dedication, jazz nights, book clubs, and other cultural gatherings are equally if not more important than the spaces and places in which they occur.  Without people, without community, without culture, the buildings themselves are inconsequential.  When people, program, and property blend together we can all benefit and community bonds are formed. 

Not long ago, the façade behind me was just an ordinary, nondescript, blank wall.  But, to Sean and Maggie with The Loss Prevention it was a canvas.  A canvas for commemoration, for celebration, and in their words, for honoring “local heroes who have made a lasting contribution to Atlanta and to the betterment of society at large.” They did a magnificent job, and, today, it is revered the world over as a monument and memorial to a remarkable Civil Rights icon, Congressman John Lewis. 

It all started in 2012, when Matt Weyandt with Congressman Lewis’ office called and asked if I knew anywhere a mural could be painted.  I was fortunate to work with both President Obama and Congressman Lewis’ reelection campaigns to find meaningful space for their headquarters in Sweet Auburn, here in this very building.  In answer to Matt’s question, I knew the mural had to be here, on this wall, on this avenue, in this community.  This was an opportunity to take an address and make it a landmark, an opportunity to create something lovely in and for the neighborhood, a way to say, “thank you”.  It makes me both happy and somewhat sad to know how truly meaningful this work was to Congressman Lewis.

As I reflect upon his life and legacy, and when I contemplate how we can all come together to positively impact future generations, it’s not surprising I think back to an interview I did as host of Sidewalk Radio with the Congressman shortly after this mural was first dedicated 9 years ago.  We talked about his passions, we talked about Sweet Auburn, and yes, we talked about art.  As was his way, he did a lot of the hard work for us. 

To quote Congressman Lewis from the interview…

 

Without the arts, without the painting, sculpt pieces, the drawings, without music, dance, theater, or whatever you want to call it, the Civil Rights Movement would have been like a bird without wings. Somehow, and some way, artists were able to tell us something about the distance we’ve come, about our past, our present, but also about our future. It moves people in different ways and in different forms. It may move you to laugh or just to smile. It may move you to cry and shed some tears. But it could move you to stand up and make you more determined to engage in a struggle to make things better for all humankind.

These predictive words took on new meaning as we witnessed the pandemic take hold, and as we saw eruptions in the streets from generations of inequity and transgressions.  It was a hard time, and one where people could look up and remember the fight and the march and the care and the cause.  Then, when Congressman Lewis died last year, the mural quickly became even more meaningful.  It became a memorial site where hundreds came to pay their respects by leaving flowers, letters and prayers in his honor, showing it to be more than just a significant and beautiful work of art; it’s a reminder, a motivator and now a monument for posterity to a stalwart leader of the Civil Rights Movement who stood firm against injustice and inequality. 

Today we’re here to re-dedicate the mural.  To commit ourselves anew to a cause, a calling, an action.  We’re here to look at this work of art with new eyes, with renewed energy, and with fond remembrance.  So, let’s do that.  Let’s view and appreciate this art and answer the call-to-action Congressman Lewis made to stand up and engage in struggles for the betterment of all humankind.  In Sweet Auburn, let’s work together as one to help realize the promise and pay homage to the people who make up and made this community so incredible.  Let’s put a plaza for peace in what is now a nondescript parking lot.  Let’s increase arts and culture programming in this community.  Let’s remember to look up.  Thank you.

Learn More:

Want to learn more about how the John Lewis HERO mural went from an idea to a landmark? Check out this Good Story, or listen to this WABE interview with muralist & Loss Prevention founder Sean Schwab.

Listen to Sidewalk Radio: Freedom - From Civil War To Civil Rights