Richmond Barthé’s 80-foot “Exodus and Dance” frieze has been displayed at the NYCHA campus for 84 years, where it’s affectionately referred to as “The Wall.”

The newly restored “Exodus and Dance,” by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé at the Kingsborough Houses. (Victoria Moran Garcia/City Limits)

At the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights last week, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) unveiled a restoration of the over 80-foot “Exodus and Dance” frieze by Richmond Barthé, funded in part by the New York City Council and the Mellon Foundation.  

“Your efforts, as all of your efforts, are driven with a drive and a passion for arts and resident engagement, and the end result is a place for this community to congregate and enjoy for decades to come,” said Lisa Bova-Hiatt, CEO of NYCHA.

The restoration was led by NYCHA and the Public Housing Community Fund, created in 2016 to support residents through programs within NYCHA’s 335 developments. In January 2024, the fund was awarded $2 million from the Mellon Foundation to help restore “Exodus and Dance” and fund future art programming at the Kingsborough Houses. 

The bas-relief frieze depicts scenes of biblical imagery and African dance, and was originally completed in 1939. Barthé, hired to create the piece under the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, initially intended it for a theater at the Harlem River Houses, according to the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. But it was eventually displayed at the Kingsborough Houses, starting in 1941.

In its 84 years there, the piece has been affectionately referred to as “The Wall.” Evergreene Architectural Arts and Jablonski Building Conservation completed the restoration at a conservation studio in the Bronx, and the piece now sits on a new brick wall. 

“We are at a time in our country where they are taking monuments to our culture down, where they are trying to erase our cultural history, telling us that we do not matter,” said New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie.  “So today is so important because we stand united in saying this community matters. Yeah, our cultural history matters. Who we are matters.”

In an effort to deter crime, the floor in front of the frieze has built-in light strips to illuminate the area, which Myrie described as “a public safety tool.”

“The only difference between gunfire on one block and peace in another is people and culture, and having a culture of peace. Art does that. It makes us think beyond ourselves. It inspires us to do so many good and positive things,” said Assemblymember Stephanie Zimmerman. “This is an amphitheater of love and joy. We should be sitting here every single day, playing music, talking about our history, talking about our dreams.”

Officials cut the ribbon on the newly restored “Exodus and Dance,” at the Kingsborough Houses. (Victoria Moran Garcia/City Limits)

During the unveiling ceremony, speakers acknowledged Larry Weekes, former president of the Fulton Art Fair and Kingsborough artist-in-residence, as a main driving force in the restoration project. Weekes passed away earlier this summer.

“At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, I looked at the frieze and thought, this is Black lives. We needed to do something to restore and revitalize it,” he’s quoted as having said, according to a program for the event.

Weekes was involved in art programs at the Older Adult Center at the Kingsborough Houses, which Eden White, a resident of the Kingsborough Extension senior housing, says she participated in. She says she’ll be visiting the frieze more often. 

“It looks 100 percent better now,” White said. “I’m going to tell my friends to come and my grandkids. Any time they come by to see me, I’ll tell them come down here to see what it looks like.” 

The $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will also be used for future programming at the NYCHA campus. This includes a mural on the back of the frieze in partnership with the Fulton Art Fair, and a series of “Storywalks”—art installations that highlight shared histories and memories, in partnership with Creative Urban Alchemy. 

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Victoriam@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Frieze by Famed Harlem Renaissance Sculptor Back at Kingsborough Houses After Restoration appeared first on City Limits.

By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — The man who attacked the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 shots into the campus and broke about 150 windows, with bullets piercing “blast-resistant” windows and spattering glass shards into numerous rooms, according to information circulated internally at the agency.

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It may take weeks or even months to replace windows and clean up the damage, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel said.

A Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal opened fire late Friday, killing a police officer. No one at CDC was injured.

The shooter was stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and opening fire late Friday afternoon, a law enforcement official has told the AP. The official wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The 30-year-old man, Patrick Joseph White, later died, but authorities haven’t said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus on Monday. CDC security pointed out broken windows across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statement.

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez accompanied him, according to the statement.

Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, where he met with the police chief. Later. He also met privately with the widow of the fallen officer, David Rose.

Monarez posted a statement on social media Friday night that said at least four CDC buildings were hit in the attack.

The extent of the damage became more clear during a weekend CDC leadership meeting. Two CDC employees who were told about what was discussed at the meeting described details to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to reveal the information. Details also were also in an agency memo seen by an AP reporter.

Building 21, which houses Monarez’s office, was hit by the largest number of bullets. CDC officials did not say if her office was hit.

The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

CDC employees were advised to work from home this week.

Kennedy issued a statement Saturday that said “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” and that top federal health officials were ”actively supporting CDC staff.”

He did not speak to the media during his visit Monday.

A retired CDC official, Stephan Monroe, said he worried about the long-term impact the attack would have on young scientists’ willingness to go to work for the government.

“I’m concerned that this is this is going to be a generational hit,” said Monroe, speaking to a reporter near the corner where a poster had been set up in honor of Rose.

Kennedy was a leader in a national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump selected him to oversee federal health agencies, and has made false and misleading statements about the safety and effectiveness of about COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.

Years of false rhetoric about vaccines and public health was bound to “take a toll on people’s mental health,” and “leads to violence,” said Tim Young, a CDC employee who retired in April.

Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first administration, said Sunday that health leaders should appreciate the weight of their words.

“We have to understand people are listening,” Adams told “Face the Nation” on CBS. “When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences.”

AP reporters Alanna Durkin Richer and Charlotte Kramon contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A St. Paul man has been identified by the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office as the victim of a fatal stabbing early Saturday in Minneapolis.

Fasel Mohamed Ali, 49, was stabbed in the torso in the 1000 block of East 14th Street in Minneapolis and died at the hospital less than an hour later, shortly after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a press release.

Minneapolis police say about 12:44 a.m. they responded to reports of a stabbing and found a man with life-threatening injuries. Officers performed life saving efforts until EMS arrived and took the man to the hospital.

The stabbing is still under investigation. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara is asking for the public’s help in finding the killer.

“Our investigators are working diligently to learn exactly what happened in this case,” he said. “I am asking anyone with information to please come forward and provide us with what you know. Every piece of information can help an investigation.”

Anyone with information is asked to email policetips@minneapolismn.gov or call  612-673-5845 and leave a voicemail. People who want to submit anonymous information can do so by calling  CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or going online CrimeStoppersMN.org.

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Voters are set to pick one of four candidates to represent St. Paul City Council’s Ward 4 in a special election Tuesday.

Ward 4 is in northwestern St. Paul and includes all or part of five neighborhoods: Hamline-Midway, Merriam Park, St. Anthony Park, and parts of Macalester-Groveland and Como.

Former City Council member Mitra Jalali vacated the seat in March. Mayor Melvin Carter appointed Matt Privratsky to fill the seat until the special election.

The winner of the special election will take the seat and represent Ward 4 through the November 2028 election.

The candidates

Four candidates have filed to run in the August 2025 special election the Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council: Chauntyll Allen, a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities who serves on the St. Paul Board of Education; Molly Coleman, the founder of the nonprofit People’s Parity Project, which seeks progressive court reform; Cole Hanson, a statewide online education coordinator who teaches nutrition to recipients of federal food assistance, or SNAP; and Carolyn Will, founder of CW Marketing and Communications. (Courtesy of the candidates)

Here’s who’s on the ballot:

Chauntyll Allen, a member of the St. Paul school board and a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities.
Molly Coleman, founder of progressive court reform nonprofit People’s Parity Project.
Cole Hanson, a statewide online education coordinator who teaches nutrition to recipients of federal food assistance who is endorsed by the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America.
Carolyn Will, founder of CW Marketing and Communications, a former TV newscaster and opponent of the city’s proposed Summit Avenue bikeway.

For more information on the candidates go to twincities.com/news/politics/elections.

Ranked-choice voting, non-partisan

Under St. Paul’s ranked-choice voting system, voters will be able to rank candidates in order of preference. There was no primary election.

The race is officially non-partisan, and the St. Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party did not make any endorsements this summer as it works to rebuild itself.

Allen, Coleman and Hanson have spent money to access progressive and Democrat-affiliated campaign software, such as ActBlue and the MN DFL Action Network.

Coleman has a significant fundraising advantage over her opponents, with $57,000 raised as of late July. Those donations came in over five months. Her donors include the mayor, former U.S. Sen. Al Franken, and former Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak.

Hanson raised about $24,000 from donors, including St. Paul City Council Member Nelsie Yang, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley and state Rep. Athena Rollins, as well as people involved with the Twin Cities DSA.

Will had raised about $21,000 as of the end of July, according to the most recently available reports from Ramsey County Elections. Her donors include people opposed to the Summit Avenue bikeway and former St. Paul City Council Member Jane Prince.

Allen had raised more than $10,000 as of the end of July. Her donors included Hoang Murphy, chief executive officer of the People Serving People emergency shelter, fellow school board member Carlo Franco and several educators and city employees.

When, where to vote

Polls for the Ward 4 special election open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 8 p.m.

A winner could emerge late Tuesday. However, if no candidate wins an absolute majority on election night — 50% plus one of the vote — election officials will begin a reallocation process.

How does it work?

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St. Paul voters rank candidates by choice on their ballots.

If one candidate gets a simple majority, they win. But if there’s no clear winner, officials will eliminate the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes and award votes to the second choice listed on the ballot. This process is repeated until one candidate has 50% support.

More information on polling locations can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website: pollfinder.sos.mn.gov/.

Some voters have already cast their ballots. Early voting started July 25 and ended on Friday, Aug. 8.