DC NORTH
March 2005 issue

MOUNT PLEASANT
Youth Unveil Graffiti Mural

On Wed., Feb. 2, local teens unveiled a graffiti mural at 3125 Mount Pleasant St., NW espousing the importance of improving education, ending poverty and providing affordable housing.

A number of nonprofit partners joined to carry out the project.  Manna community Development Corporation owns the building, which suffered a fire and is currently empty.  The graffiti replaces what formerly was a barren street front.

The idea to seek a legal site for graffiti art came from students with the Youth Action Research Group (Y.A.R.G.), a non-profit that encourages middle and high school students to engage in public policy.

Two of the main artists, 16-year-old Bell Multicultural High School students bearing the monikers “Ocho” and Clowney” (who prefer not to use their real names) sharpened their skills in classes at Midnight Forum, a center providing free classes to youth in art