Decades after being killed in attempted robbery, artist’s antiviolence work displayed in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — A young man’s mission against violence has been renewed.

It’s been decades since Javon Thompson was killed, but now an exhibit that hopes his art can save lives is showcasing his work.

Thompson was 18 and had just finished his first semester at CMU on a full scholarship when he was shot and killed during an attempted robbery in 1994. His best friend Wayne Scott was right next to him when it happened.

“He told him ‘this is it for you. Take your last breath.’ That’s when he pulled the trigger. He shot Javon twice in the chest next to me, and he shot me three times in the left arm and once in the right leg.”

Before his death, Thompson used art to deliver a message of nonviolence. He also wrote about it in a piece in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette six months before his death.

“He said we can’t focus on the quicksand, but on the way out,” Thompson’s mom Adrienne Young said. “That’s why he didn’t focus on drugs and gangs in the neighborhood, he focused on the way out.”

Now, after decades, Javon’s art is on display this week in the lobby of the City County Building as part of an artist initiative by Michelle Gainey showcasing the city’s talent.

The initiative is in collaboration with another artist, retired police detective Alphonso Sloan. Before picking up a badge, Sloan picked up a spray paint can and was a graffiti artist. He says art can be a tool for change.

“We need people who have the propensity toward violence to change. To take different pathways to think before you pull the trigger,” Sloan said.

There will be a special showing of Thompson’s and Sloan’s art this Thursday at 6 p.m.

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