The three bright parrots overlooking Columbia Road symbolize the ethnic diversity that characterizes the neighborhood - the birds are native to Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Artist G. Byron Peck initially planned the mural to celebrate the vibrant Latino Adams-Morgan community, featuring two parrots with an Aztec relief to honor the rich tropical forest and ancient Indian civilization.

By the mid-1990s, the composition of the neighborhood had changed to include a higher proportion of African Americans, as well as African and Asian immigrants. After a request from the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Peck added multicultural elements to the painting - a third parrot, an Asian dragon, and African warriors.

Latino culture is represented in the finished work by a Mexican deity signifying renewal and rebirth - perhaps an allusion to community healing after ethnically charged riots in the neighborhood two years earlier. A Polaroid image of children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds anchors the mural in the here and now.

Contributed by: American Dreams & Associates