The message is simple.

The word "PEACE" aside a painted hand making the universal peace sign.

More:Akron City Council pitches nearly 20 ways to curb gun violence in solutions-only session

But even mural artist Kyle Holbrook — who painted the work this week on the side of Mocha Maiden in the heart of downtown Akron — knows the issue of gun violence in America doesn't have a simple fix.

Holbrook, who is best known for his mural work in his hometown of Pittsburgh and Miami, said he grew weary of burying friends from his childhood lost to gun violence and decided to do something about it.

His campaign to paint similar symbols of peace in all 50 states started about two years in Chicago, a city besieged by gun violence.

The project was derailed by the pandemic and just started up a few weeks ago with a goal to be done in a year with murals in cities in far-reaching states like Alaska.

His travels brought him through Ohio and that's why he made a stop to paint one of the murals on Maiden Lane in Akron.

And even during his visit here while he was painting, there was a daytime shooting of two teenagers walking down a residential street not far from the Akron Zoo. 

The teens survived, but Holbrook said the heartbreak for families from gun violence is too much to bear and needs to end.

"It's crazy," he said. "Gun violence really is an epidemic. Everywhere I visit, there is a shooting."

Akron developer Tony Troppe offered up the canvas — the side of one of his buildings — for the artist to paint his message of peace.

“Thanks to Kyle, the newly contributed mural is an artful expression, a powerful symbol for what we all need to be striving for," Troppe said. "Maiden Lane is a well-traveled location for artists and art lovers — welcome to all ages, all races, all flavors — here 'Peace' has more than a chance."

More:'It takes courage to live': Now You Know Akron podcast roundtable addresses rising gun violence

Growing up in Pittsburgh's Wilkinsburg neighborhood, Holbrook said, he was exposed to gang violence at a young age. Thanks to loving parents who kept him from straying, he attended and graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

He became known for his large murals in and around Pittsburgh and eventually Miami and even London.

"Art saved my life," Holbrook said.

And now he hopes his series of anti-gun murals — typically placed in high traffic areas — will prompt frank discussions about violence in those communities and foster cooperation among everyone from parents to public officials to work together bring about change.

"The whole point is to bring awareness and bring the issue to the forefront."

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.