DALLAS -- The beauty of bronze is that it can last for generations.
"It's a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it's an honor," said local artist Emmanuel Gillespie. Gillespie graduated from Booker T. Washington, and so did the man he sculpted.
"A statue of a man who has touched a community but has also touched the world," Gillespie said.
Baseball great Ernie Banks, a player that broke barriers with that signature smile on his face, died at the age of 83.
The Hall of Famer spent all 19 seasons with the Chicago Cubs. It was a career made in Illinois, but it started in Dallas. Banks graduated from Booker T. Washington High School.
Banks' road to the majors was paved through the Negro Leagues. In 1953, Banks became the first African American player to sign with the Chicago Cubs and one of only a handful league-wide. He retired from the game in 1971, but remained a fixture in Chicago until the day he died.
Despite an accomplished career, his proudest moment came late in his life. In 2013, at 82 years old, Banks was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to civilians in the United States.
Current students from Booker T, now an art's school, worked with Gillespie to sculpt his likeness from clay. "It's important for people to know how somebody can make a lot of history in a short period of time," said eleventh grader Natalie Carvjal.
It's a pose that will now live forever outside Booker T Washington High school. Banks died in 2015. His legacy was made in Chicago – and now his famous smile brightens Dallas. "When we look at the statue you'll see he's in a relaxed pose so it's easy for you to approach him -- but at the same time he's in a classical pose a heroic pose," Gillespie said.