For over four decades, John Ahearn has cast plaster sculptures of individuals during sidewalk workshops on Walton Avenue in his South Bronx, New York, neighborhood. This work depicts Bashira, a young boy who had just graduated from grammar school. Bashira chose his pose and his outfit, presenting himself with pride in shining academic regalia. Through portraits like this, Ahearn records the energy and beauty of community relationships and individuals he recognizes and admires while not turning away from painful realities of life in his disinvested neighborhood. This quest for realism has been inevitably imperfect, at times subject to criticism and debate for representing the hard truths of his borough. Bashira is a potent reminder of the deep entwining between social and cultural contexts when art derives from community engagement.