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Luis Peralta Del Valle’s Solo Show Instills Love, Hope and Art

WASHINGTON INFORMER — When one drives or walks through the neighborhoods in the District, colorful murals jump off building walls, making the city a prettier, more art-filled place. Chances are, many of those murals are by 38-year old artist Luis Peralta Del
Valle.This month, the artist, who started tagging walls as a graffiti artist in his teens, was selected for a solo show at the Anacostia Arts Center.

Published

5 years ago

October 31, 2019

Oakland Post

One of the pieces in Luis Peralta Del Valle's solo show (Courtesy photo)

By Eve M. Ferguson

When one drives or walks through the neighborhoods in the District, colorful murals jump off building walls, making the city a prettier, more art-filled place. Chances are, many of those murals are by 38-year old artist Luis Peralta Del Valle.

This month, the artist, who started tagging walls as a graffiti artist in his teens, was selected for a solo show at the Anacostia Arts Center.

“Out of Chaos,” as the show is titled, is rife with deep meanings, symbols and pays homage to the artist’s roots, incorporating graffiti and other elements that point to street and public art. Particularly noticeable is the “canvas” he chooses — repurposed streets signs layered with recycled paper and U.S. Postal stickers.

“Road signs usually warn us about danger,” he said. “As a graffiti artist, I would usually do art on them — tag them or put stickers on them. When you see a warning sign, it usually tells you not to do something negative — stop, yield, don’t go left. I decided to put iconic and unknown figures on them.”

The realistic, classical portraiture of people who have overcome great setbacks or made great strides are painted on top the road signs in their original diamond shape and bright orange background. Other paintings are traditional canvases, but hide graffiti tags in the backgrounds. Iconic figures such as Katherine Johnson of “Hidden Figures” fame, ballerina Misty Copeland, the late artist Michael Platt and the “Father of Go-Go” Chuck Brown are the subjects of many of the works.

“‘Out of Chaos’ speaks to the human experience that a lot of African Americans and Hispanics go through — and other ethnicities go through — we live in this chaotic world and we have a lot of negative things going on,” said Del Valle, who was born in Nicaragua and spent time in refugee camps before coming to the District in his teens.

“But in these bad situations there have always been people that overcame these chaotic situations in their lives and actually excelled in their careers or whatever they do professionally,” he said.

The centerpiece life-size portrait of Misty Copeland hung on the far wall from the entrance, is majestic in its scale and grandeur, capturing the ballerina with an expression that is both regal and defiant.

“One of the great things that I came across, which I used in the Misty Copeland portrait, ‘Grace’ is a new technique. I always had these disposable plates with dried up paint because that is what I use as a palette. I put my paint on the plate and I use them. A lot of paint just dries up. I never wanted to throw them away, but I never knew what to do with this dried up paint,” Del Valle continued.

“Then one day I said, ‘my hands are really hurting. What can I do to create without using a brush so I don’t have to use my tendons?’” he said. “I got the idea to start scraping the paint off the disposable plates and adding it to my canvases. What that did was add more dimension to my canvases and I was able to add texture and at the same time add dimension to them. It took my art to a whole different level, and that is something I would have never found out if I had not had that tragedy.”

Del Valle found beauty in his tragic events, and sought to bring that element out — triumph over tragedy — in his portraits.

“Misty Copeland also broke some barriers as a ballerina,” Del Valle said. “She also came from poverty and struggles. As ballerinas, people of color were thought they could never reach the highest heights, but she is now principal ballerina. That is a door that she knocked down so that other young girls could follow her lead.”

The use of the street signs reflects a “transfiguration from one symbolic vocabulary to a new one rooted in love, hope and art. Visions of strength, determination, prosperity and beauty are created using refined elements of traditional portraiture and the embedding of positive messages,” according to his artist’s statement.

Other subjects are less known publicly, but no less vital to the message that Del Valle is trying to relay: “figures who have converted their pain, challenges and frustration into purpose.”

According to the artist, “they not only transformed their lives, but influenced the lives of others for generations.”

One with great meaning to Del Valle is Michael Freeman, whose introspective portrait faces “Grace” across the long gallery space. Freeman, like Del Valle, is a Southeast resident.

“Pastor Mike Freeman, Apostle Freeman now, is the lead pastor at Spirit of Faith Christian Center — he’s been very instrumental in my life recovering from depression and anxiety that were caused by a car accident back in 2016,” Del Valle said. “I was in a place where I couldn’t really paint like I used to — for 12-14 hours a day without even missing a heartbeat. But in the car accident, I injured my hands, my neck, my shoulders … pretty much everything that an artist needs. Every time I would paint, my tendons would burn. They gave me OxyContin for painkillers and medicine for muscle spasms. It was the worst thing for me. It made me suicidal and very depressed.”

Not only did Freeman help Del Valle recover from his darkest hours, but also he had experienced similar trauma, having had medical issues that resulted in the pastor being in a coma. He was paralyzed, and those other people who had similar conditions did not survive. However, through prayers and the care of his wife, he recovered.

“I kept trying to paint, doing what I could do, sometimes 30 minutes a day because what else am I supposed to do? I am a full-time artist,” Del Valle said.

“Out of Chaos” is on view at the Anacostia Arts Center (1231 Good Hope Road SE) through Nov. 15. Del Valle’s murals can be seen throughout the city at Savoy, Roosevelt, Watkins, Hyde Addison, Garrison, Bancroft and Lafayette elementary schools, as well as Langston Place Apartments, Sisters City Project and Children’s National Medical Center.

Del Valle is the recipient of numerous arts awards, including the 2015 National Museum of Catholic Art and Library Award and the 2013 East of the River Distinguished Artist Award. In 2017, he was honored with the NCIS Director’s Coin by NCIS Director Andrew L. Traver. More information can be found on his website, www.LuisPeraltaGalelry.com.

This article originally appeared in The Washington Informer.

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Fighting to Keep Blackness

BlackPressUSA NEWSWIRE — Trump supporters have introduced another bill to take down the bright yellow letters of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., in exchange for the name Liberty Plaza. D.C.

Published

1 week ago

March 7, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

As this nation observes the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, the words of President Trump reverberate. “This country will be WOKE no longer”, an emboldened Trump offered during his speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Since then, Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter this morning that “Elon Musk and his DOGE bros have ordered GSA to sell off the site of the historic Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery.” Her post of little words went on to say, “This is outrageous and we will not let it stand! I am demanding an immediate reversal. Our civil rights history is not for sale!” DOGE trying to sell Freedom Rider Museum

Also, in the news today, the Associated Press is reporting they have a file of names and descriptions of more than 26,000 military images flagged for removal because of connections to women, minorities, culture, or DEI. In more attempts to downplay Blackness, a word that is interchanged with woke, Trump supporters have introduced another bill to take down the bright yellow letters of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., in exchange for the name Liberty Plaza. D.C. Mayor Morial Bowser is allowing the name change to keep millions of federal dollars flowing there. Black Lives Matter Plaza was named in 2020 after a tense exchange between President Trump and George Floyd protesters in front of the White House. There are more reports about cuts to equity initiatives that impact HBCU students. Programs that recruited top HBCU students into the military and the pipeline for Department of Defense contracts have been canceled.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing back against this second-term Trump administration’s anti-DEI and Anti-woke message. In the wake of the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, several Congressional Black Caucus leaders are reintroducing the Voting Rights Act. South Carolina Democratic Congressman James Clyburn and Alabama Congresswoman Terry Sewell are sponsoring H.R. 14, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Six decades ago, Lewis was hit with a billy club by police as he marched for the right to vote for African Americans. The right for Black people to vote became law with the 1965 Voting Rights Act that has since been gutted, leaving the nation to vote without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Reflecting on the late Congressman Lewis, March 1, 2020, a few months before his death, Lewis said, “We need more than ever in these times many more someones to make good trouble- to make their own dent in the wall of injustice.”

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Rep. Al Green is Censured by The U.S. House After Protesting Trump on Medicaid

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question.

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

In one of the quickest punishments of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the modern era, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) was censured by a 224-198 vote today in the House. His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question. Of the last three censures of members of the U.S. House, two have been members of the Congressional Black Caucus under GOP control. In 2023, Rep. Jamal Bowman was censured.

On the night of March 4, as President Trump delivered a Joint Address to Congress, Rep. Green interrupted him twice. Rep. Green shouted, “You don’t have a mandate to cut Medicare, and you need to raise the cap on social security,” to President Trump. In another rare event, Rep. Green was escorted off the House floor by security shortly after yelling at the President by order of GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson. Over the last four years, members of Congress have yelled at President Biden during the State of the Union. Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor-Greene was joined by Republican Rep. Lauren Bobert (R-CO) in 2022 in yelling at President Biden. In 2023, Rep. Greene, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) yelled at Biden, interrupting his speech. In 2024, wearing a red MAGA hat, a violation of the rules of the U.S. House, Greene interrupted Biden again. She was never censured for her behavior. Rep. Green voted “present” on his censure and was joined by freshman Democrat Congressman Shomari Figures of Alabama who also voted “present”.

All other members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against censuring Green. Republicans hold a four-seat advantage in the U.S. House after the death of Texas Democrat and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner yesterday. Ten Democrats voted along with Republicans to censure Rep. Green, including Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who is in the leadership as the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “I respect them but, I would do it again,” and “it is a matter of conscience,” Rep. Green told Black Press USA’s April Ryan in an exclusive interview on March 5. After the vote, a group of Democrats sang “We Shall Overcome” in the well at the front of the House chamber. Several Republican members attempted to shout down the singing. House Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the House out of session and into a recess. During the brief recess members moved back to their seats and out of the well of the House. Shortly after the vote to censor Rep. Green, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee quickly filed legislation to punish members who participated in the singing of “We Shall Overcome.” Earlier this year, Rep. Ogles filed legislation to allow President Donald Trump to serve a third term, which is currently unconstitutional. As the debate started, the stock market dove down over one-point hours from close. The jobs report will be made public tomorrow.

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Trump Moves to Dismantle Education Department

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The department oversees programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), serving 7.5 million students. Transferring IDEA oversight to another agency, as Trump’s plan suggests, could jeopardize services and protections for disabled students.

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The Trump administration is preparing to issue an executive order directing newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education. While the president lacks the authority to unilaterally shut down the agency—requiring congressional approval—McMahon has been tasked with taking “all necessary steps” to reduce its role “to the maximum extent permitted by law.” The administration justifies the move by claiming the department has spent over $1 trillion since its 1979 founding without improving student achievement. However, data from The Nation’s Report Card shows math scores have improved significantly since the 1990s, though reading levels have remained stagnant. The pandemic further widened achievement gaps, leaving many students behind.

The Education Department provides about 10% of public-school funding, primarily targeting low-income students, rural districts, and children with disabilities. A recent Data for Progress poll found that 61% of voters oppose Trump’s efforts to abolish the agency, while just 34% support it. In Washington, D.C., where student proficiency rates remain low—22% in math and 34% in English—federal funding is crucial. Serenity Brooker, an elementary education major, warned that cutting the department would worsen conditions in underfunded schools.

“D.C. testing scores aren’t very high right now, so cutting the Department of Education isn’t going to help that at all,” she told Hilltop News. A report from the Education Trust found that low-income schools in D.C. receive $2,200 less per student than wealthier districts, leading to shortages in essential classroom materials. The department oversees programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), serving 7.5 million students. Transferring IDEA oversight to another agency, as Trump’s plan suggests, could jeopardize services and protections for disabled students.

The Office for Civil Rights also plays a key role in enforcing laws that protect students from discrimination. Moving it to the Department of Justice, as proposed in Project 2025, would make it harder for families to file complaints, leaving vulnerable students with fewer protections. Federal student aid programs, including Pell Grants and loan repayment plans, could face disruption if the department is dismantled. Experts warn this could worsen the student debt crisis, pushing more borrowers into default. “With funding cuts, they don’t have the materials they need, like books or things to help with math,” Brooker said. “It makes learning less fun for them.”