Spirit of '76

Artist: Freeman, Charles

Date: 1992

Medium: Acrylic on wall

County Department: Military and Veterans Affairs

Artwork Site: Bob Hope Patriotic Hall

Supervisorial District: 1

Current Status: On view

About the Artwork: At the top of Bob Hope Patriotic Hall’s north facing exterior wall, is a large painted mural by Charles Freeman (Brother Boko). Able to be seen from miles away, this mural was commissioned by Los Angeles County in 1992. It is an interpretation of Archibald Willard’s 1876 painting, The Spirit of ’76, which depicted a Revolutionary War drum and fife band marching through a battle. This new version alters the original imagery by making the central figure a black man – thereby symbolically embedding the contributions of African Americans into the United States’ official history, which often omits them.

About the Artist: Charles Freeman (Brother Boko) was born in 1951 and grew up in Houston and New York City before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s. He has created many murals in the Los Angeles area including ones for the Los Angeles MTA, the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), and the Magic Johnson Theatre Complex. He currently lives and produces art in Atlanta, Georgia. He restored Spirit of ’76 in 2004.