Actor LaRoyce Hawkins, creatives to bring mural to local spaces.

The “Harvey World Wall” mural is painted on the side of The Harvey Boxing Club in south suburban Harvey.

South suburban Harvey — like Chicago — is known for a lot of things, some of them not so savory.

Rampant corruption.

Disinvestment — intentional or unintentional.

And a recent viral video involving Harvey police officers.

But how does a community move on, accept the challenges, and change the narrative?

“Chicago P.D.” cast member and Harvey native LaRoyce Hawkins had an idea and consulted with his circle of friends to take the first step in assisting his hometown: creating a mural as an inspiration to kickstart change.

“For us, the most important thing was to find light and balance to this battlefield that we find ourselves on — Harvey, specifically — because my hometown is where my heart is,” said Hawkins. “Every time there’s news or press, it doesn’t necessarily look great; I think there’s a 10- to 12-year plan of attack that darkness has been seeping into the city, and we’ve been losing light and adding shadows.

“Chicago P.D.” star LaRoyce Hawkins has helped create an inspirational mural for his hometown of Harvey.

“There was this darkness maintained by low frequencies, whether it’s because people didn’t have hope, or was it because the leadership wasn’t necessarily in the right pocket. … We wanted to do something that we knew would be the inverse of the attack of darkness; we want to attack with light — and this wall is just the first step.”

Through a series of conversations with a friend who teaches at a local elementary school, Hawkins met artist/muralist Amoz Wright, whom he says provided “positive energy” from the beginning.

Wright then told Hawkins about a quartet of local artists — Nefertiti Abdulmalik, David Isreal, Dante Lyles and Caleb M. Harris — who could make the mural a reality — and that reality created “Harvey World Wall,” which sits in the 15300 block of Broadway Avenue on a wall that’s part of the Harvey Boxing Club.

The mural, which is in the process of creation, consists of a conglomerate of work named “Talk That Talk;” “Green Harmony;” “The Creation of lyur MJSD (pronounced “Your Majesty”); “Change;” and “Give.”

“The vision and the voice were directly in line with some of the projects that I was already working on in terms of bringing light to the Chicagoland area,” said Wright, a Harvey native who created “Talk That Talk” for the mural. “It was a godsend. I was able to bring together some of the amazing artists that I know, who are some of my close friends as well, to be a part of this project.”

Amoz Wright’s “Talk That Talk” is a part of the “Harvey World Wall” mural is painted on the side of The Harvey Boxing Club, located at 15331 Broadway Ave. in Harvey. — Amoz Wright’s “Talk That Talk” is a part of the “Harvey World Wall” mural painted on the side of The Harvey Boxing Club, located at 15331 Broadway Ave. in Harvey.

Abdulmalik, an Edgewater resident, echoes Wright’s sentiments in “Green Harmony,” her portion of the mural, where she illustrates her interest in Buddhism.

“Being in spaces doing a lot of youth work and community activism creates a lot of emotional stress,” said Abdulmalik. “Connecting to something that could help me to be a better person in those spaces. For me, it was spending time in nature and learning how to hold emotions, and how to breathe through emotions.”

David Isreal, who created “lyur MJSD,” says he was inspired by Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.”

“I felt Black people who are in the Harvey area, and in general, they need to be able to see God in themselves and see themselves as God as well,” said Isreal.

Artist Caleb M. Harris’s “Give” is a part of the “Harvey World Wall” mural painted on the side of The Harvey Boxing Club in south suburban Harvey. — Artist Caleb M. Harris’s “Give” is a part of the “Harvey World Wall” mural painted on the side of The Harvey Boxing Club in north suburban Harvey.

Artist Caleb M. Harris’ “Give” was inspired by his research and Christian beliefs.

“I did a lot of research on color psychology, color theory,” said Harris. “I figured out yellow is a color that incites joy. Purple is a color that is usually associated with royalty. So, them being complimentary colors, I definitely wanted to make an impact — even in the smallest levels — to strike the point that giving is something that a lot of us need to do a lot more.”

Throughout the project, Hawkins kept in mind a conversation he once had with another Harvey native who made a name for himself: actor and comedian Tom Dreesen.

Hawkins says the mural — and the work the artists put in — is inspirational to him, causing a positive effect on his craft as an actor.

“ [Dreesen] said: ‘There’s a thin line between ego-driven and spirit-led,’ and ever since that conversation, I’ve really done my best to leave my ego at home, and allow the ‘spirit’ to lead me into spaces where my gift can grow the most effective way,” said Hawkins, a Thornton Township High School alumnus, and Comedy Central’s “South Side” cast member. “I was so grateful that everybody’s spirits lined up in a similar way. … We wanted [the mural] to be something that will raise and elevate the frequencies.”