My friend Jerry Gant a true Newark Legend at the Mural

Why I love Jerry Gant

Like a brother

Why do I say that Jerry Gant is Newark?

Because he is one of the few home grown people

Who have stayed here,

With boots on the ground

Worked with his people

Tirelessly

And has sought through his work and his life

To remain true, to his work and his community

Yesterday

I was working on the mural and dapper Jerry stopped by

The mural site over the course of the last few days

I didn’t tell him about the mural

He was going to church the other day

Looked up saw the mural

And knew by the colors that it was me

Anyway

Jerry Gant is a legend

He is in the graffiti hall of fame

A master of aerosol art and much more

An accomplished sculptor, painter and more

As well as being a performance artist writer

And more

I have known jerry Gant since

He took my airbrushing class

Black in 1983 at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial art

I can’t say I taught Jerry any thing

But he was in that class

We lost touch for years

Then about ten years ago or so

I started running into Jerry again

Soon we were talking about every thing

And hanging out

We wound up working together at the after school program

For a few years

And Jerry became my brother

The Kids at school still ask me

Where is your brother jerry?

He left the school

I tell the older kids laughingly

That he died

Eating chicken at Newark fried chicken on broad st

They love to hear this and they howl

When I tell them

Sounds morbid to you

Tough

Where I come from its not

I teach in one of the roughest schools in Newark

And humor is subjective

Anyway

Life is hard here and the kids get it

Anyway

Yesterday jerry stopped by the mural

This guy can make me laugh like no other

He is so funny he makes my stomach hurt

He had the whole crew laughing and laughing

But most of all the young guys

Were happy to be sitting and listening

To this graffiti legend

And he regaled them with stories

And with advice

They loved it

And so did

But that isn’t what I am writing about

It’s not about his comedy

And he can do stand up

It’s about his soul

We were standing there talking

Jerry Me and Linda

His business partner and friend

A lovely lovely woman

As well as being brilliant

When this drug addicts

This woman walked up

And interrupted us

Asking for a quarter

I looked at her closely

I reached for my pocket

But not before jerry did

I looked at this woman and saw drug addict

I looked at this woman and saw pain and despair

And trauma

I saw a person

There but for the grace of God Go I

She was beat-up tired looking

Skinny as a rail

I looked at her

Then Jerry handed her a quarter

And she said thank you

As she was walking away

Jerry stopped her

And said

I love your hair

It looks beautiful

She turned around and beamed

Beamed

Then I looked at her again as she was walking away

And noticed that some one had taken a lot of time

Braiding her hair

It was perfect

You could see how some one

Not only took the time to make this woman

Presentable

But had greased her scalp too

This woman walked off Beaming

And as I often do with Jerry

I learned

Oh I am down with the people

I don’t judge any one

But that’s not enough

Jerry could see through the pain

Through the trauma

Jerry could see the woman underneath it all

The person

The human being in need of love

And most of all to be really seen

This woman was still a woman

Through all of her drugs

Still a woman, a person

Who like most of us needed to be told

That this simple effort

Of doing her hair

Was rewarded with notice

This is what I love about jerry

His connection to Newark

Should be applauded

Should be rewarded

So many run from jerry

They think he is too rough

Too strong

Too black

But what they need to come to see

Is what I have

Jerry is one of the most human of men

I will never forget that simple moment

Jerry may have just changed that woman’s

Life for just a moment

But again he altered mine

Forever

I went back to that wall

And started painting again

Renewed

In the conviction that this mural is needed in this blank

Part of Newark

Beauty and inspiration is needed here

And I just hope when this woman walks

Past my mural when it is done

That it makes her smile

Makes her become alive again

If just for a moment

No one knows were the spark of recovery comes from

I just hope I can help

Like Jerry Did

Like Jerry Does

Jerry Gant is Newark

Rough, real raw

Full of talent

Dreams and hope

Newark needs to look more closely

At Jerry Gant

He is truly its son

Technorati Tags: Jerry Gant,kevin blythe sampson,newark new jersey,city murals,murals graffitti