Photo by Christina Sturdivant

The sketch we saw along the side of Ben’s Chili Bowl earlier this month is now colored with the various shades of African Americans who’ve made their marks in the District and beyond.

“Anyone can honor you, but these folks are like family,” comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory told DCist at the mural’s dedication ceremony this afternoon. “Black folks always supported me before white folks would even come see me,” he said.

Gregory is one of more than a dozen black entertainers, politicians, and athletes who now adorn a wall on the side of Ben’s location in the U Street Corridor—one of the longest standing black-owned restaurants in the city. The 85 year old told a street full of spectators how he would come the diner to eat “when everything else was gone.”

Comedian and D.C.-area native Dave Chappelle said that being featured on the mural is “one of the greatest honors” he’d ever received. “Love live D.C.!” he shouted at the crowd. “God willing it will be the 51st state.”

The Ali family, owners of the iconic chain, and Mayor Muriel dedicated the vibrant mural titled “The Torch.”

It was commissioned by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities MuralsDC program, which the late former Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham launched in 2007 as a creative solution to an increase in illegal graffiti in the city.

“Next year, Ben’s Chili Bowl will celebrate their 60th anniversary, and I could think of no better way to honor the Ali family for their steadfast commitment to Washington, D.C., than through the creation of another tremendous mural,” said Mayor Bowser at the outdoor ceremony, before going inside for lunch. “The love Ben’s Chili Bowl has shown the District since 1958 is surpassed only by the love our city has shown them right back.”

Aniekan Udofia, a local artist who created Ben’s “Famous Faces” mural in 2012, was selected for the project.

Everyone—including former president Barack Obama, Chuck Brown, and Donnie Simpson—who was on the previous mural are included on this one, with the notable exception of Bill Cosby.

A longtime Ben’s fan, Cosby’s mug on the wall lead to controversy as dozens of women began publicly accusing him of sexual assault incidents that go back decades (some of which had already been reported). A Pennsylvania judge recently declared a mistrial in one such case against the 79-year-old entertainer.

In late January, Ben’s replaced Udofia’s work with white paint—the owners said that it was “time to refresh and repaint the mural.” Local artist Robert Generette III designed a temporary mural for the wall in April featuring Wizards players John Wall and Bradley Beal as the team entered the NBA Playoffs, and a number of other temporary works went up.

Ben’s held an online contest in which more than 30,000 votes were cast for people to appear on the wall, according to a release from Mayor Bowser’s office. The Ali family selected from the top candidates.

“It has been my distinct honor and privilege to have been in the company of some extraordinary people,” longtime D.C. anchor Jim Vance told the crowd today. “You cannot imagine my joy and my pride when I got the word a month or so ago that all y’all had voted poor ass little me to sit on Ben’s Chili Bowl’s wall.”

“You have no idea what an honor that is,” said Vance, who announced to his NBC viewers last month that he has cancer. Although he says he can no longer fit any of the pants in his closet due to the illness, Vance told the crowd that “the blessings never stop flowing.”

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Donnie Simpson, and Russ Parr, who are each featured on the wall, also attended.

The remaining portraits feature Harriet Tubman, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former D.C. mayor Marion Barry, Muhammad Ali, Prince, Wale, Roberta Flack, and Taraji Henson.

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