Homewood mural’s creator was inspired by his own past to create ‘Liberation Wall’
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Artist Kyle Holbrook knows firsthand about police brutality and violence.
Twenty-two years ago, he said, he was kicked and beaten with batons by police officers in Cleveland. One of the officers tried to gouge out his eyes, Holbrook said.
He was wearing handcuffs at the time, but he fought back. Had he not, he might not be the artist he is today.
“I’m lucky to be living,” said Holbrook, 42, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood.
Holbrook hasn’t talked about what happened to him in years. But he said the recent killing of George Floyd by police during an arrest in Minneapolis made him want to speak out.
Not just with his words, but with his art.
For the past three years, Holbrook has been painting the “Liberation Wall” at Nadir Way and Kelly Street on the side of the Community Empowerment Association’s building in Homewood. It chronologically depicts African American history.
Holbrook hopes to have it completed by Tuesday.
“Three months from now. Two years from now. Ten years from now. This is a moment in time that needs to be remembered,” Holbrook told the Tribune-Review on Sunday. “Hopefully, there’s some change in those times.”
“It’s also important to remember moments of history and what they meant, put them in context and to memorialize them so that they can continue to be learned from,” Holbrook added. “That’s the way that change can happen.”
Holbrook worked with T. Rashad Byrdsong, the founder of the Community Empowerment Association, to come up with the imagery. The images are of people who played a role in the civil rights freedom and liberation movement, such as African American athletes, entertainers, social activists and soldiers.
There also are people who have suffered from violence. One such person is Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed for allegedly flirting with a white woman in Mississippi in 1955.
The mural also depicts Floyd, who was killed May 25.
“We see what’s going on in the country today. That whole struggle continues to this very day in 2020,” Byrdsong said. “We just wanted to show the connection right out of slavery up until today. We still are fighting for our constitutional rights, to be full citizens here in this country without being killed or suppressed.”
The mural also is something for the community. People stop by to chat about it or make suggestions about what could be added. The CEA will talk with kids about what the imagery means.
Holbrook hopes to expand the project to include solutions and what the future looks like for African Americans.
“This isn’t a mural (where) I’m doing what I want, my style, and just for me,” Holbrook said. “This is about research.”