In the hot sun of August 1995, Mike Womble led a team of teen artists who painted a tableaux of Dudley Square, a project that brought to life the history and vibrancy of Roxbury’s largest commercial district.
Images of a young Malcolm X, the elevated train that had been dismantled eight years earlier, and a bustle of shoppers took shape on the side of Drain’s House of Style, at the corner of Washington Street and the Malcolm X Boulevard.
“It shows the history of Dudley — transportation, restaurants,” Womble says of the mural. “It’s a way to keep the history intact.”
As Womble and his teen charges worked, the reception they received from passersby was warm. Eddie Soares, who held a daily chess game on a folding table on Washington Street, opposite the Ferdinand Building, would come by and bring water. In the course of the two weeks it took the crew to finish the job, Soares, now deceased, became a part of the mural, immortalized in his trademark look: white fedora, white tank top, gold chain, and white slacks.
Three years ago, Womble, who returned to his native Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn to work as a graphic artist and muralist, came back to Roxbury to paint a mural on the soon-to-be demolished Bartlett Yard bus depot. Passing through Dudley, he saw the 1995 mural. The paint was faded, but none had peeled. Then and there, he decided the mural had to be re-done.
Three years later, with a $3,000 grant from the Boston Arts Commission, Womble and a new crew of artists set out to re-do the mural, restoring the vibrant colors, adding new details and preserving the overall character of the original. Among those working on the revival were Womble’s former MassART classmate, Gregg Bernstein, as well as artist Ricardo Gomez, whose Roxbury Love piece bearing the likeness of Nelson Mandela graces a vacant Warren Street storefront opposite the Washington Park Mall.
Artist Cedric Douglas puts the finishing touches on a portrait of the late Roxbury activist Melnea Cass on a mural in Dudley Square.
Last Thursday, as artist Cedric Douglas was putting the finishing touches on a new likeness of Roxbury civil rights activists Melnea Cass, passers-by once again praising were Womble and his team of muralists for their work.
“Everybody’s been responding well to this piece,” Womble said. “People of all ages respond to this. A lot of people are coming by to say ‘Thank you.’”
Womble credits the enthusiastic reception to the education he gained working under the tutelage of Heidi Schork, who has led the city’s mural program since 1995.
“My passion was always graffiti, but I’ve learned to be respectful,” he said. “You can’t just go into any neighborhood and do whatever you want. Heidi taught us to reach out to people and pay attention. Talk to the people about their neighborhood.”
New additions to the work include the façade of the newly-renovated Bruce Bolling Municipal Building, an image of an Orange Line train on the old elevated railway, a circa 1960s MBTA bus and other fine details. Working with aerosol spray paints, the artists are able to work faster, finishing the job in three days. They’re also able to add more shading and detail, like reflections in the eyes of the luminaries depicted in the mural.
“We’re adding detail, but were keeping the integrity of the original piece,” Womble said.
