PRESS RELEASE: The Community Rejuvenation Project Introduces the Martin Luther King Cultural Corridor

========== OAKLAND, CA - April 27, 2010 - On Sunday, April 25th, the Community Rejuvenation Project inaugurated the stretch from West Grand Avenue to 28th Street as the Martin Luther King Cultural Corridor, just three blocks from the latest homicide. With the completion of a mural honoring civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Dorothy Height, as well as Marcus Garvey, the founder of the Pan-African movement and philosophy, the organization created a series of four new murals to inspire peace and cultural pride. Martin Luther King Jr. Way has long been known for its violence and gang activity. It is one of the most heavily policed districts in the city. The Cultural Corridor includes five murals with content ranging from West Oakland celebrations to scrapper bikes to plant and animal life. "We chose Ghostown and the MLK Corridor for this project because of the dumping and extreme vandalism we noticed in the area. We hope this can be a catalyst for change in the community, and we want to create landmarks that people take pride in," says participating artist and Oakland resident Dave Kim. The Community Rejuvenation Project transforms blighted areas of the community through murals, community clean-up, landscaping, gardening, and community celebrations. The grassroots organization transform high target walls, routinely blighted areas, and abandoned lots and turn them into points of community pride. The former Foster's Freeze was major target for blight and vandalism before the Community Rejuvenation Project cleaned up the block and painted a mural on the building. During the last month while the project was being executed, the Community Rejuvenation Project also cleaned each of the blocks along the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Corridor, picking up over 15 full bags of garbage between West Grand and Sycamore. St. Over 20 volunteers participated in the project and a new partnership was created with St. Vincent de Paul, a nonprofit organization providing direct assistance to needy men, women and children in the area. This partnership will allow CRP to implement the newest component of the CRP's initiatives, an on-site breakfast program at its murals. For more information or high-resolution photos, please visit our website at www.communityrejuvenationproject.org Four bags of trash and "Love, Art, and Music Are The Universal Language" adorn the corner of 25th and MLK where are fence barricades a park closed by the city because it was haven for drug use.