Day 7
Wow! There are SO MANY MURALS in the Mission District of San Francisco! I could spend a week walking around and studying every one. It's amazing! Thanks to my self-guided tour from the Precita Eyes Muralists Association as well as the incredible powers of Google, I was able to learn quite a bit about the murals.
One particularly amazing display is referred to as Balmy Alley, an alley block with more than 30 garage murals that date back to 1971. The mural pictured was particularly poignant to me with its depiction of the tension between law enforcement and urban youth of color. As an educator in East New York and Sunset Park, Brooklyn, I have seen a fair amount of police harassment of youth and I know the anger and resentment students feel because of this practice. I can imagine naming this problem through a mural could be a cathartic exercise for youth, and adults, that have experienced police harassment.
Surrounding St. Peter's Church are a series of murals including this one by the gate toward the courtyard. Here, there are bodies lying beneath the earth with roots in them that go up to the life above. Although initially I found this a little morbid, there is definitely beauty in our bodies becoming nutrients for other living things when we die. I have never seen murals on a church, but I think it speaks to how integral the church is to much of the Spanish speaking community. Also, this notion of our bodies being used as fuel for future life is a broader vision than I would expect from a Christian church.
More of a building installation, than what I think of as a mural, this is the Edificio de Mujeres. It is the first women owned and operated community center in the country.
On their website they state that: "The Women’s Building is a women-led community space that advocates self-determination, gender equality and social justice."
Walking by the building, I saw a depiction of Audre Lorde, an Aztec godess, Georgia O'Keefe, and Niuta Teitelboim (a Warsaw Ghetto resistance fighter), to only name a few. Not only was I in awe by the countless examples of powerful female figures painted all over the building, but also by the creative offerings of the organization. They have a drop-in legal time every week where people can legal advice for $1/minute (much less expensive than your average lawyer who bills you by the hour). In addition, they operate a food pantry, give technology access and classes, offer tax assistance and support immigrants in a variety of ways. The organization specifically desires to build community among women and girls understanding the vital need to bring youth into any social justice based organization. Pretty amazing place!
On their website they state that: "The Women’s Building is a women-led community space that advocates self-determination, gender equality and social justice."
Walking by the building, I saw a depiction of Audre Lorde, an Aztec godess, Georgia O'Keefe, and Niuta Teitelboim (a Warsaw Ghetto resistance fighter), to only name a few. Not only was I in awe by the countless examples of powerful female figures painted all over the building, but also by the creative offerings of the organization. They have a drop-in legal time every week where people can legal advice for $1/minute (much less expensive than your average lawyer who bills you by the hour). In addition, they operate a food pantry, give technology access and classes, offer tax assistance and support immigrants in a variety of ways. The organization specifically desires to build community among women and girls understanding the vital need to bring youth into any social justice based organization. Pretty amazing place!