Rocky Cotard's mural honoring the late civil-rights icon John Lewis has moved to a new home in Cambridge.
A newly restored mural of the late Georgia congressman and civil-rights leader John Lewis, which was vandalized last fall, has a new home.
Last summer, restauranteur Erin Miller commissioned Lesley alumnus and staff member Rocky Cotard ’18 to create the painting for display outside her North Cambridge restaurant, Urban Hearth. But in mid-March and following the mural’s restoration, Miller opted to house the work in a safer location, away from the elements and vandals.
That location is a distribution center for the charity Food For Free, which collects food that would otherwise go to waste, directing it to under-served, hungry populations.
Just before Thanksgiving, the mural was marred by black spray paint. The restaurant owner suspected a hate crime, though Cambridge Police Department have not confirmed that theory, noting the presence of similar graffiti on nearby buildings.
Using studio space at our College of Art and Design and “with the amazing support of Gianfranco Pocobene Studio,” Cotard restored the mural and had planned to return it to the Urban Hearth location at 2263 Massachusetts Ave. However, according to a story in the Cambridge Day, “Miller and the rest of the Urban Hearth looked for a safe place to keep it during the winter — and found that home at Food For Free’s 73 First St. space, provided rent free by East Cambridge developer Urban Spaces.”
The mural, which was completed in October, features a likeness of Lewis framed by ribbons of his renowned quotes, including, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair.
“Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime.
“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
