TBT 2007 While I was laying out the lettering for this sign in chalk that the owner of the building had okayed, on the Oakland/Emeryville border, I was stopped by two patrol cars and four policemen who
announced over their speaker, "Sir, put down the chalk and step away from the wall..." I turned around to see four cops in a line surrounding me, figuring they had busted a tagger in broad daylight. The one on my far left looked nervous and had his hand on his gun. I put my hands up and mentioned to the captain that I had authorization, posed no threat- and to please tell the officer on my far left to stand down.
It was a very tense moment...
...talk about having to find one's "Gandhi place" in a hurry... It fortunately ended well; and local students from Destiny Arts Center helped decorate our impromptu community billboard as CHALK4PEACE celebrated its second year as a global event...
Photos courtesy of Barry Robinson Photography
