Before the Wall Came Tumbling Down: Ephemerality and Chicago's Wall of Respect, 1967-1971

In: Space and Culture, Volume 18, Issue 4, p. 411-420

Abstract

This article examines the well-known community mural, the Wall of Respect, begun on Chicago's South Side in 1967, from the perspective of its ephemerality. A product of the Organization of Black American Culture's (OBAC) Visual Arts Workshop, the Wall inspired similar murals across the United States. Completed at a moment when positive images of African Americans were scarce in the mainstream media, the Wall was filled with portraits of Black cultural and political leaders divided into eight sections (e.g., jazz, religion, politics, sports) accompanied by black and white photographic panels and text. The mural was conceived from the outset not as a static work, but as imagery which would change in response to community demands. Thus, the rise of the Black Power and Black Arts movements was registered in a series of alterations to the mural, outlined here, before its destruction in 1971.