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The story behind the Martin Luther King Jr. mural on MLK Drive

Mural of Martin Luther King Jr. along the side of East Side church has become iconic

Despite the cancellation of the 37th-annual MLK march, throughout DreamWeek people can still visit an iconic mural on Martin Luther King Drive.

The mural was painted six years ago by local artist David Blancas on the outside of Greater Faith Institutional Church. That’s right across from MLK Academy.

The leader of the church, Bishop Rosa Wilson, told KSAT that she had the mural installed for many reasons — one as a reminder to our community about MLK’s legacy but also to mark history.

She said it provides a place for people to gather to take generational photos by the mural when they march. She said the mural is much more than a mural, and compares it to a rare jewel.

“It’s almost like a diamond ring,” Wilson said. “Each facet has a meaning. It has a glory, it has a goal.”

The commissioner of the MLK Commission Dwayne Robinson said he is grateful to have a piece of art that has historical meaning along the march route but also one that reminds us that there is still so much work to do.

“Just looking at the messaging, I mean it’s like something that happened in the 60s and we fast forward to 2024 and all of this stuff is still accurate,” Robinson said.


About the Authors
Sarah Acosta headshot

Sarah Acosta is a weekend Good Morning San Antonio anchor and a general assignments reporter at KSAT12. She joined the news team in April 2018 as a morning reporter for GMSA and is a native South Texan.

Azian Bermea headshot

Azian Bermea is a photojournalist at KSAT.

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