Each morning, during his brisk jog through Pine Hills’ Breezewood neighborhood, Seven Charlestin saw the same depressing, dilapidated wall that he had seen for years.
Inspired by iconic graffiti artist turned neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the artist and community organizer had recently helped paint several murals. Those experiences led him to realize “how impactful it was for other communities to see someone painting something for them. I realized that these walls said something about those communities.”
But what did that wall say about his community? He wanted to make certain that it said something positive. So Charlestin organized artists, took out student loans, sought donations of paint and supplies, and got permission from the powers that be to organize a creative project.
The work, which began in 2020, took about 1½ years to complete. The newly adorned wall bore faces of locals, some passed and some still living. Images of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians combined to celebrate the area’s diversity.
The mural created a buzz of excitement. “We had community members come out just about every day,” says Charlestin. “People would pull over just to give us words of encouragement and take pictures or videos.” While the work was underway, some people brought food for the painters.
The timing turned out to be more important than anyone had expected. The racial reckoning of 2022 was playing out and “we found ourselves in a place where community members were looking to us to help them find resources like food, personal protective equipment and more.”
Charlestin went from being a community organizer to becoming founder of the nonprofit Las Semillas, also known as Seeds of Pine Hills. The charity provides physical assistance and mentorship programs. Notes Charlestin: “It’s beautiful work, and it’s definitely my favorite job.”
Meanwhile, another beautiful work helmed by Charlestin—the Pine Hills Mural of Positivity—completed in 2018 on a warehouse wall at the corner of Silver Star Road and Powers Drive—was torn down in 2023 to make room for a building to house Orange County Mosquito Control.
But community pressure has resulted in a decision to resurrect the wall at the same location, with the effort again organized by Charlestin. Local artists, along with middle and high school students, will contribute. “Last time it was an amalgamation of a lot of different sketches and murals,” he says. “This time we’re going to make one mural with multiple sketches from multiple artists.”
Adds Charlestin: “This is the type of work that takes decades to be realized, and we’re in it for the long haul to make a proper investment in our community and create something the young folks today can profit from.” For more information on Seeds of Pine Hills, visit
seedsofpinehills.org.
