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The facade of this aged church at 617 W. Evergreen
is enlivened by "All of Mankind," a 1973 mural by
artist William Walker. Though weathered and
faded by time, the piece's scale, power and detail
are still evident for anyone patient enough to drink
it all in. Dedicated to racial harmony, the mural
features four conjoined multi-ethnic characters at
center, surrounded by a host of faces and scenes.
The mural includes the names of slain figures such
as Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Malcolm X, Anne
Frank and Jesus Christ. The mural was funded by
an NEA grant and took three years to complete. The
church building itself is a remarkable remnant of
the neighborhood that existed before the infamous
Cabrini-Green public housing project was built in
the 1960s. The projects are now rapidly giving way
to a new neighborhood. But the fate of the mural is
uncertain.
photo by Lee Bey
