The I Am a Man mural is located near the CTA Blue Line at the corner of Milwaukee, Wood and Wolcott in the Wicker Park neighborhood. It shows a Black man holding a sign that says, “I Am a Man”. It is a recreation of a famous photo from the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It honors an iconic moment in Black History.
The mural project was led by Darius Dennis and artists that worked on it were Ephraim Gebre, Robin Alcantara and Jared Diaz. The actual photo that the mural depicts was taken by Bob Adelman in 1968 at Dr. King’s funeral in Memphis. Dr. King was assassinated the day after the photo was taken. King was in Memphis to help with the sanitation workers strike and the I Am a Man sign was carried by the striking workers. It is now a popular sign at civil rights protests.
*Note – Some of this information is from a Block Club Chicago article.
