Fresno mural honored violence victims. Here’s why the building owner ordered it removed
This story is part of the Central Valley News Collaborative — a bilingual, community journalism project funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation and with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp. The collaboration includes The Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
Pastor Willie Moore, who owns the downtown Fresno building that featured a mural depicting city residents lost to violence, said he ordered the artwork’s removal about two weeks ago because it didn’t reflect the church’s teachings.
Moore, who runs the Greater Visions-All Nations Church, said he initially requested that Fresno-based artist Omar “Super” Huerta paint artwork that primarily displayed the church’s name, Bible passages and scriptures. Moore said he originally agreed to one or two portraits being included in the mural, located at 436 N. Blackstone Ave.
Huerta’s mural, called “The Hall of Angels,” featured the faces of 13 Black and brown residents who were violently killed.
Moore was “disappointed” that the mural’s focus did not meet his expectations, he said, which is why he had it removed. He said he felt it was not necessary to communicate his decision in advance because it was painted “without his permission.”
“It’s my property,” Moore told The Bee on Monday. “All I can do is do what’s right for me and the constituency that the church belongs to.”
Over nearly a year, the mural became a memorial site honoring Fresno natives who lost their lives to gun violence, hit-and-run accidents and other violent events. People would often gather there to lay flowers, candles and other tokens in remembrance of their loved ones. Community members and many people who said they were relatives of the victims portrayed in the mural were upset by its removal on Nov. 11.
Moore acknowledged the mural’s removal hurt many community members, especially those who were family members of the victims. He said he did not mean to upset anyone.
“They have my prayers, they have my sympathy,” he said. “I think they should continue to have (their mural), but not in places where it’s not acceptable. I don’t have any malice about any of it, I just know that it was time for that to come to a halt.”
Moore said he now hopes to hire another artist to paint a mural highlighting religious teachings, symbols and scriptures to indicate that the building is “a place of worship and everyone is welcome.”
Huerta and Moore did not have a written agreement regarding the mural there or what artwork it would display, though Huerta said he had been painting murals there for more than six years.
Huerta on Monday told The Bee he “didn’t ignore” Moore’s requests for the artwork, but was confused as to why the pastor kept changing the scope of the project. Huerta said the two had a verbal agreement that the wall space would be used to depict those lost to violence, who he refers to as angels.
“I didn’t ignore his request, I told him he was asking for way too much,” Huerta said. “I stand by our agreement we had, which was to fill it up with angels.”
Faces depicted in Huerta’s works include the portraits of 2-year-old Thaddeus Sran, who was found dead in an orchard west of Madera last year; Charlotte Ethridge, a mother of two shot to death in her apartment in April; and 16-year-old Isiah Murrietta-Golding, who was killed by Fresno police in 2017.
Huerta will repaint “The Hall of Angels” in two new locations and plans to include the 13 original portraits as well as an additional three, totaling 16 faces featuring Fresno’s deceased residents from communities of color. The new mural will span the sides of two different auto shops at 4595 E. Shields Ave. and at 1354 N. First St. and will both honor victims and serve as a community gathering place for bereaved families.
Huerta said last week that he will begin painting as soon as he gathers enough donations through GoFundMe to accrue paint supplies. He will paint between three to four faces a night or every other night to speed up its completion, he said.
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.