By Global Leadership Academy Healthy Globe reporters | Graffiti is writing or scribbling on public property, and it has been around for thousands of years, said Kelly Wall, a Ted-Ed educator, in a video.

She says that “it can make statements about identity, art, empowerment, and politics, while simultaneously being associated with destruction.”

Graffiti can be found on buildings, walls, on the sides of subways, and trains. Back in Ancient Rome, some rulers called graffiti ridiculous and pointless, GLA sixth-grade reporters learned from the video.

They were surprised to learn that many scholars feel graffiti can be seen as either art or vandalism. Graffiti can be a form of artistic expression and rebellion, but when graffiti artists damage someone else’s property, the reporters said it was vandalism.

About 40 years ago, people in Philadelphia were concerned about the amount of graffiti on walls and buildings. They got together in 1984 and started the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network and recruited graffiti artists to help paint murals across the city. The program, now called Mural Arts Philadelphia, has created more than 4,000 murals, Each mural is unique to a neighborhood and space, and has the involvement from community members, according to Mural Arts Philadelphia. A study by Yale medical School found that participating in the creation of these murals inspired people to take more action on behalf of their community.

GLA has a large mural of Will Smith on the parking lot wall, and the GLA reporters said it’s inspiring to see someone local that has had a significant impact on their neighborhood.

Will Smith © 2018 Richard Wilson, 45th Street and Girard Avenue. Photo by Steve Weinik.