On this day of looking back to the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and forward to our continuing work toward his vision, we can also look at the past and present of the Five Points Neighborhood of our city. This painting on the curb extension at Welton, North Washington and 27^th Street seems a fitting image for our consideration.

As many of you know, The Five Points Neighborhood was known as the “Harlem of the West.” At one time it was the only significant hub for jazz between St. Louis and Los Angeles. Five Points attracted the greatest jazz musicians in the world in the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald were among the artists who performed here.

This mural is part of the Five Points Outdoor Mural Gallery, an effort to bring new life and new color to the neighborhood while honoring its colorful and vibrant history. In this amazing contour the artists have painted a flow with extended white strings; reverence with tints and shades of color; and gratitude with practiced hands engaged in nearly audible patterns.

This seems a cropped testament to the arts, places where God seems near in the brushstrokes and melodies and movement and words of people. We give thanks for human talent to the One who shared and shares these gifts with all people across all of the false lines we have drawn. Thanks be to God. Amen.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church