Shared by Terry

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Eric Okdeh

I have a brother that is incarcerated. He has been behind the prison
walls for 31 years. He is serving a life sentence, Life without
parole. He and I are not quite a year apart in age. When he got
arrested he left behind a 2 month old baby girl, she’s now 31 years
old with 2 sons. I always wonder what kind of life my brother would
have had if he hadn’t got arrested? He was 22 yrs old at the threshold
of manhood. I know he would have been a great father & a great
grandfather! I know he would have been a successful God fearing man!
These days folk don’t fear nothing because they lost HOPE! My brother
has survived all these years behind the prison walls because hope is
still alive in him. Praise God! I know he would have made sacrifices
for the sake of others (he was always a giver) still is! I know each
day he wakes up and things are still the same, it’s a sacrifice! He is
the best brother that anyone could be proud of and I’m very proud of
him (My Brother).
I love and miss my brother so much!

About Eric Okdeh

Eric Okdeh is a Philadelphia based muralist, who has been creating public art since 1998. After receiving his BFA in painting from Tyler School of Art, Eric chose to focus on mural work exclusively. Since 2002, in addition to his commissioned work, Eric has taught mural making classes to children and teens throughout the city as well as inmates at SCI Graterford Prison. The classes exist as leadership, teamwork, and skill building exercises which culminate in major mural projects. In an attempt to capture these significant community collaborations and interactions, Eric has developed this website and mural blog. The projects are journalized and documented in photographs and video clips to lend outside observers insight into the processes by which his murals come about. Eric has over 65 commissions throughout the city of Philadelphia and one in Seville, Spain. He has participated in mural projects in Tucson, Arizona and Los Angeles. His work is featured in four books about public and Mural art.
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