The Wall of Respect was an outdoor mural first painted in 1967 by the Visual Arts Workshop of the Organization of Black American Culture. It is considered the first large-scale, outdoor community mural, which spawned a movement across the U.S. and internationally. The 'Wall of Respect’ was formerly located at the corner of 43rd Street and Langley. Local artist William Walker gathered poets, photographers, and rival gang members to paint portraits of over 50 African American heroes on the wall of a run-down building on the South Side of Chicago at a historical time of institutional segregation and discrimination. The autonomous community effort was an expression of Black pride and liberation born of the Black Arts Movement of the 60's.
The building has since been torn down, but the Wall of Respect inspired a mural movement in African American neighborhoods throughout the city and the entire country.
The Wall of Respect is considered the first large-scale, outdoor community mural, which spawned a movement across the U.S. and internationally.
