From Vacancy to Agency: St. Louis Murals of Redemption

Admire bright murals painted on abandoned houses while learning about prominent Black St. Louisans!

From Vacancy to Agency: St. Louis Murals of Redemption

St. Louis, Missouri 63107, United States

Created By: Mural Tours

Tour Information

One artist local to St. Louis, Chris Green, has been commissioned by the nonprofit Better Family Life to paint murals of prominent St. Louisans on the boarded-up windows and doors of abandoned buildings along Page Boulevard. This walking tour exhibition highlights some of these works on one block of Page and emphasizes the importance of this project by providing important background on the subjects of the portraits. In Green's own words, the murals are meant to "deliver hope to individuals and families whose lives have been marginalized" (Lisenby), particularly by the racially prejudiced policies of urban renewal, triage, and the foreclosure crisis in North St. Louis. With figures ranging from the famous Maya Angelou to lesser-known local heroes like Halbert Sullivan, Green repaints the image of North St. Louis with his mural projects to provide a picture of redemption.

While Chris Green has been painting large portraits of local Black heroes and positioning them publicly in Black neighborhoods for years, “artist” is not his profession. He works in a storeroom for the city’s Division of Recreation. Additionally, Green is a part of the community in which he paints for Better Family Life’s project; he himself lives on Page, directly across the street from one of the abandoned houses with his paintings (King). Green paints with genuinity and with an intimate understanding of the situation at hand, pouring his heart and humble skill into providing his community with pride and positive representation.


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What You'll See on the Tour

In this portrait, Chris Green depicts Frankie Muse Freeman (1916-2018), known for being the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 1964. Although she was born in Danville, Virginia, she lived out much... Read more
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Leon and Michael Spinks, as shown in this mural, are brothers and professional boxers born and raised in north St. Louis. Leon is best known for one of the biggest upsets in boxing when he won unanimously against Muhammed Ali for the heavyw... Read more
Dr. Kelvin Adams, painted on this yellow backdrop, is currently in his 11th year as the Superintendent of Schools for the St. Louis Public Schools for the 2018-2019 school year. Again, he is more of a lesser known figure, but he has been in... Read more
This bright mural features Halbert Sullivan, the founder and CEO of the Fathers’ Support Center in St. Louis. The mission of his nonprofit is to “provide noninvolved fathers the support they need to get back into the lives of their chil... Read more
Chris Green’s portrait of Jamilah Nasheed hangs directly next to his mural of Lawrence Walls and Richard Perry on a vacant duplex. Senator Jamilah Nasheed is a Democrat representing Missouri’s 5th Senatorial District in the City of St. ... Read more
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In this mural, Chris Green paints a widely known subject—Maya Angelou. However, her birthplace of St. Louis may be lesser known. While Angelou was born in St. Louis in 1928, she moved away to Arkansas at age three and then returned when s... Read more
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