Anti-war mural created by PACT (Power, Action, and Change for Teens)
in partnership with Groundswell Community Mural Project
Summer 2003 ? Brooklyn, New York

During the summer of 2003, members of PACT: Power, Action, Change for Teens (a program of the Center for Anti-Violence Education) decided to create an anti-war mural. The mural depicts the relationship between the government and the people pertaining to the issue of going to war with Iraq. It was created in partnership with Groundswell Community Mural Project.

In the center of the mural, there is a grand eagle resting there with bags of money in his wings. Underneath the tree there is a river that runs clean before it reaches the tree and becomes polluted with money that’s dripping from a faucet in the tree. This central image represents our government and the way it spends its money. All the eagles in the mural are the “bad guys” who believe in gaining money. The eagles are so caught up in this affair that they don’t realize that they are oppressing the doves (the good guys). Instead the eagles are wasting the money they actually want to gain. The money that drips from the government flows partly to the man with his eyes closed reading the newspaper. The man doesn’t want to see the horrors that this oppression has placed on the doves.

The doves are the ones who want to spread peace in the world. So, wherever the doves stand, little plants and flowers start growing that are still fragile. This is important because just like the flowers, peace is fragile and needs to be taken care of. Without being taken care of, peace will die.

The doves that look at the sign that says, “Eagles Only,” wonder why their oppressors are not allowing them to see what is hidden in the forest. This symbolizes how our government doesn’t always tell us the full story, and hides facts for their own protection.

The large dove in the sky is a spiritual dove that the doves in the scene do not actually see, but believe in. This symbolizes peace and the hope for a peaceful time. The word “peace” is written in several different languages, stressing that most nations in the world believe in peace and want to maintain it.

The whole image itself says that whatever the little doves do, the eagles will not listen to them and only do what they want. This relates to our problem with going to war. Many people in America and around the world believe strongly that war is something that the 21st century does not need to see. There were many anti-war protests around the world. Even with that, the American government did not listen to the people and went along with their own plans, much like the eagles in the mural. So, if the eagles symbolize our government, and we, the people, are the doves, as symbols of peace we have the power to change the government.

Call CAE if you would like to present this mural for an event/conference/meeting etc. We are happy to ask one of the young women who designed it to come to your group and discuss the mural.