A mural placed in a public environment has the ability to remind us of the empathetic side of humanity amid influences that encourage isolation.  It enriches the lives of people who are near it by declaring that place distinctive.  It draws passersby out of their heads into the communal space we share.  When this form of expression is used to remember significant events and figures, the past is brought into the future in a way that people can incorporate into their present.  It invites inhabitants to place themselves in a narrative that began before they were here and will continue after they are not.  Individuals are reminded that we are part of a whole and affect each other more than we realize.