The Moving Lives of Kids Community Mural Project is set to unveil its latest mural dedicated to civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today.
Open to the public for free, the unveiling will be held at 11 a.m. The mural will reportedly span the length of 60 feet high and will be placed at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church in Pittsburgh’s North Side. The painting will depict Dr. King in vivid colors and is aimed to be “visually stimulating” for all viewers.
To create the mural, the nonprofit fostered collaboration with artists, schools, community groups, foster homes, juvenile justice halls, churches and other school programs. Led by founder and Executive Artist Kyle Holbrook, the MLK Mural public arts organization focuses on the cross-section of the arts and community work, urging the youth to develop by using public art as a way to provide community work during the summer months.
As of early 2025, the nonprofit has placed murals in approximately 96 cities in the U.S., the Caribbean and South America.
“The narratives woven into the Murals are of great historic significance. Most importantly, we are developing the vast artistic and intellectual wealth represented by our gifted youth,” said the leaders of MLK Mural on their official website. “Children and young adults learn together about the historic significance of their own neighborhoods, and then translate what they learn into images they create on the walls, giving them a voice and the freedom to express their thoughts.”
The newest mural will be unveiled on what is considered to be the 39th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. First observed in 1986, the federal holiday was signed into law in 1983. Celebrated on the third Monday of each January, the holiday falls a week after Dr. King’s birthday, which is on Jan. 15.
The civil rights leader played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, Dr. King first oversaw the Montgomery bus boycott, later becoming the inaugural president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
As president, he led several nonviolent protests, also taking part in the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech and the Selma to Montgomery marches.
As a result of his work and teachings, Dr. King played a pivotal role in helping achieve the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP for his activism. Dr. King was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
