*Located at the NE Corner of the Civic Commons Park across from the Cheyenne Municipal Building.
This sculpture is dedicated to Mary Ann Tyler, who, with her husband, Charles E. Tyler, raised eleven children in this immediate neighborhood.
The Tyler family came to Cheyenne in 1952 when Charles was stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. For more than seven decades, the family resided on the West Side, including across the street from this park, at 623 West 20th Street, in the heart of what then was a vibrant African-American community, which had existed ever since the founding of Cheyenne in 1867, when 30 African-American railroad workers arrived with the Union Pacific Railroad. The African-American West Side community was anchored by Corlett Elementary School, Second Baptist Church and Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and many thriving businesses along Bent Street. This sculpture pays homage to the faith and fortitude of Mary A. Tyler and the Tyler family, as well as the entire African-American community that flourished in this neighborhood. The Sankofa bird calls upon us to look back to remember our history, while the praying hands implore us to keep the faith that sustains us.