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Benu – The Rebirth of the South Side

Artist: Jeffrey Martin Cook, Marcus Jefferson, Joseph Matunis, Songhay Smith and Students from the Area

Commissioned by: Butz Foundation, Chicago Mural Arts Project, the South Shore Bank, Walgreens, Dominicks, Center for Neighborhood Technology

Location: Jeffrey Plaza, 73rd and Chappel

Medium: Mural

Commentary: The picture is based on an African legend of a golden bird which dies and ressurects itself every 500 years. The picture shows the bird in the background as African Americans follow a striking woman leader toward power and freedom. The story of the bird is written on the mural itself and in the dedication the artists state that there can be no "freedom until we maintain our own business and industry."

When the mural was painted, the community of South Shore was beginning to ressurect itself after a twenty year period of decline. The building of Jeffrey Plaza, where the picture is displayed, was a key element in that ressurection and represented the power of African Americans to "maintain their own business and industry."

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