This summer, a team of talented young men set out to understand the causes and effects of incarceration working with Lead Artist Esteban del Valle and Assistant Artist Jose de Jesus Rodriguez.
 
They discovered that 7.3 million children across the United States have at least one parent in jail or prison. 
 
They discovered that 70% of these kids will follow in their parents' footsteps, becoming imprisoned at some point in their lives. 
 
They discovered that 1 in 106 white men is behind bars, compared to 1 in 36 Hispanic men and 1 in 15 African American men. 
 
And they discovered the vital connection between street art and national social justice movements. 
 
With a monumental Food Bazaar Supermarket wall in Brownsville as their canvas, these emerging artists have powerfully illustrated what freedom can mean within the context of mass incarceration. 
 
"Life itself is prison to some people," said youth participant Gustavo Bahena. "We want people with past experience of incarceration to look at this mural and be able to find an escape." 
 
This is just one of eight murals New York City teens have created this summer through our flagship program, the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI). 
 
We invite you to come out this week and honor the achievements of Gustavo and other young people like him, as we unveil our summer murals and mark the end of SLI 2014. 
 
To follow a youth-driven social media campaign highlighting this project, developed in partnership with WNET New York Public Media, use #GroundswellNYC.  
 
For a complete list of mural dedication dates, please visit our event page. 
 
*Photo credit: Brownstoner