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in 1953, Darryl McCray was primarily raised by his mother and grandparents. In 1965, McCray was sent to a juvenile corrections facility called the Youth
Development Center (YDC). While at the YDC, McCray adopted the nickname "Cornbread". McCray complained to the cook of the institution, Mr. Swanson,
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Love Letter Subway Tour ➤ Love Letter is a series of 50 mural valentines in West
Philadelphia, many written by neighborhood residents themselves. The project draws its inspiration from 1967's "Cornbread Loves Cynthia," messages that graffiti progenitor Darryl "Cornbread" McCray left along the bus
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members who would write their names on the walls of the facility. McCray claims he was never part of a gang, but he would write his new nickname, Cornbread, on the walls next to the gang members. McCray claimed to be the first person to tag his own name and not a gang name or symbol.
205:, and Philadelphia newspapers incorrectly identified him as Cornbread, the tagger. Cornbread then decided to make a captivating and unusual come back to win over media attention, after they falsely pronounced his death. He decided to 'bomb' the whole
198:. There, he developed a crush on a girl named Cynthia Custuss. To win her attention, he wrote "Cornbread Loves Cynthia" all over North Philadelphia. After winning over Cynthia, he continued tagging North Philadelphia.
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and blossomed into the modern graffiti movement, which reached its peak in the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then spread to Europe. McCray later worked with the
Philadelphia's
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Today, McCray works as a public speaker and youth advocate. He gives motivational talks about his youth as a tagger, his run-ins with the law, and his struggles with drugs.
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with his tag and finally wrote "Cornbread Lives" on a tame elephant that he had met a few days prior. Due to this, he was arrested and had to serve community service.
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262:(2007). In August 2013, McCray was honored at the Graffiti Hall of Fame in East Harlem for his contribution to hip-hop culture.
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178:. McCray's constant badgering inspired Mr. Swanson to start calling McCray "Cornbread", a nickname that McCray adopted.
256:. The story of Cornbread is also prominently included in the documentary film about the history of graffiti, called
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route of his special someone. Love Letter was completed in 2009 as a grand gesture of love to West Philly.
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to help combat the spread of graffiti in the city. He is currently a public speaker and a youth advocate.
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315:"Fresh Cornbread: the Philadelphia artist who invented graffiti featured in Philadelphia gallery"
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515:"Graffiti legend 'Cornbread' McCray to be feted during weekend 'Graffiti Hall of Fame' event"
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141:. He is widely considered the world's first modern graffiti artist. McCray was raised in
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In 2021, McCray married
Consuela Sanchez, a longtime friend from Philadelphia.
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that he only baked white bread, while McCray preferred his grandmother's
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youth from tagging. The Anti-Graffiti
Network eventually turned into
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In 2007, documentary filmmaker, Sean McKnight, made a film called
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drew its inspiration from 1967's "Cornbread Loves
Cynthia".
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Cornbread in an interview with Betevé in
Barcelona, 2022
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129:(born 1953), better known by his tagging name
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494:"The 15 Coolest Places in Harlem Right Now"
291:"A History of Graffiti - The 60's and 70's"
225:and recruited McCray to help him stop the
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513:Weichselbaum, Simone (2013-08-23).
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181:The YDC was full of Philadelphia
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413:Haegele, Katie (2001-10-24).
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365:"History of Graffiti Pt. 1"
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16:American graffiti artist
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387:"Interview in Bomb It"
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440:"Mural Arts Month"
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277:References
227:inner-city
217:In 1984,
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131:Cornbread
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169:Born in
135:graffiti
103:Graffiti
99:Movement
524:4 April
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259:Bomb It
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117:Partner
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109:Spouse
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