"All of Mankind" Mural on North Side Stranger’s Home Missionary Baptist Church

Standing over the remains of what used to be Cabrini Green, (at the time) the poorest, most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago, is the “All of Mankind” mural. “All of Mankind” is considered a significant piece in the overall body of work of William Walker, who is one of the founders if not the founder of the community murals movement in Chicago. But despite that history the mural’s been in limbo for years now, caught between the limited resources of the city and the tight budget of a small church congregation.

The little church seems almost left behind, cast adrift in the moat of empty parkland that surrounds it. Over the century of its existence, the church has seen its community grow, die, grow again in a new direction, and then empty out.  It was built in 1901 as the American Protestant Episcopal Church, but by 1927 it was acquired by the Chicago Archdiocese and re-opened as the San Marcello Mission to serve the burgeoning Italian-American community around it.  In the 40’s and 50’s, block after block of that community would be demolished for what would become Cabrini-Green.  The Italians moved out; Afro-Americans moved in.  It was then that “The Projects” were born.  In 1971, a Benedictine priest Dennis Kendrick to was brought in to try to salvage the declining congregation. Not only did he raise money for repairs, he hired Chicago muralist William Walker to cover the church’s exterior with the “All of Mankind” mural. 

After San Marcello was closed in 1974, the building became home to Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church, whose pastor painted over the murals Walker had created for the building’s interior.  About that time, a campaign was started to save the exterior mural “All of Mankind,” but today it continues to fade from view. 

The Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church now stands alone among empty fields where the housing projects of Cabrini Green once also stood.  It seems it will only be a matter of time before this historical landmark is torn down to pave the way for new modern condominium developments.