Radical Faith, Bold Hope
Old West Church • Boston, MA
2017

Old West Church Mural Project
produced by Old West Church and CABA

This mural is a tribute to four prominent figures in the history of Boston.
John F. Kennedy, W.E.B Du Bois, Melnea Cass and Mary Oliver. (L-R)

JFK cast his 1960 Presidential vote in the Old West Church at 131 Cambridge Street. W.E.B Du Bois was the first African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. Melnea Cass was a community and civil rights activist in Roxbury and the South End. Mary Oliver was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet whose many works were published in the city.

JFK quote is from his inaugural address
“The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for freedom…”

Mary Oliver quote is from Invitation
“it is a serious thing, just to be alive, on this fresh morning in this broken world.”