OAKLAND – Activity in the city’s Laurel neighborhood seemed a bit dormant during the lengthy COVID-19 shutdown, but the industrial park was still busy as one of its greatest works of art was recently completed to greet people out shopping and Going back for a walk.
The late John Lewis, who died in 2020, appears to the left of the mural on 35th Avenue’s gate to the Laurel District in Oakland, a location chosen in part because it had become a target for graffiti taggers, Daniel Swafford said from the Laurel District Association. “We had talked about showing some instrumental characters and showing John Lewis how to show his legacy of voting and civil rights,” said Swafford. (Courtesy photo by Daniel Swafford)
A new mural greeting civil rights activists now adorns the outside wall of the Goodwill store at 3525 MacArthur Blvd., the work of Laurel store owner Fernando Santos, who is also a teacher and artist.
“The mural brings with it a positive vision of unity that shows that racial equality, nonviolent protest and social justice apply to all,” said Santos, who has owned the Beast Oakland (Beastoakland.com) business and a “Brick” for nine years -and- “Mortar Shop at Laurel for over five years.
Santos, an art teacher at the Lazear Charter Academy in East Oakland, is no stranger to murals. He’s done about a dozen in Oakland, including one of the Laurel District murals in homage to the California grizzly bear. The latest mural is an artistic tribute to John Lewis; Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez; and Fred Korematsu was welcomed when Santos and the district received a $ 7,000 arts grant from the city to Neighborhood Voices.
“We narrowed it down to four people who we believed needed recognition for their work,” Santos said. “A lot of people, including me, didn’t know who they were.”
Artist Fernando Santos will appear on April 8 while working on the recently completed civil rights mural in the Laurel neighborhood of Oakland. (Anda Chu / employee archive)
Lewis, who died last year, was a longtime civil rights activist and member of Congress dedicated to desegregation and ensuring the right to vote for African Americans. The Mendezes pioneered the battle to separate California schools, first in Orange County and eventually across the state. And Korematsu, originally from Oakland, resisted Japanese-American internment during World War II and took his case to the US Supreme Court.
The mural also reflects the diversity of the Laurel district, and the community supported its creation. Santos – who was helped create the mural by two of his art students, his brother, and a youth from the neighborhood – is proud of the finished work.
“I love it. Everyone loves it,” he said. “Every time we’re there, community members stop and tell us how much they like it.”
The mural is at the 35th Avenue gate to the business district, a location chosen in part because it had become a target for graffiti taggers, said Daniel Swafford of the Laurel District Association.
“We had talked about showing some instrumental characters and showing John Lewis how to show his legacy of voting and civil rights,” said Swafford.
A new mural welcoming civil rights figures John Lewis outside the frame and, from left, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez and Fred Korematsu now adorn an exterior wall of the Goodwill store at 3525 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland’s Laurel district. (Courtesy photo by Daniel Swafford)
The decision was made to expand the concept and add Korematsu and the Mendezes to show “the legacy of Oakland’s struggle for social justice in the Asian-American, Spanish-speaking and African-American communities,” according to a business district announcement. A GoFundMe page matching the city grant for the mural has already received $ 4,000 from the community for a $ 5,000 goal.
“A lot of people come in wanting to show their pride in our community,” said Swafford. “This mural was very popular with the people.”
The funds will also help create a virtual walking tour that will highlight the art in the business district and the creators involved by hearing strollers what the art is about and interviews with the artists.
The mural can be seen in its full width at the top. (Courtesy photo by Daniel Swafford)
“We have a culture of amazing art in Oakland, but sometimes there is a disconnect between artwork and the artist and their inspiration,” said Swafford.
Artists can also benefit from re-visibility.
“The pandemic has put them in a position where in some cases they have struggled to do what they normally do,” Swafford said.
The hope is that the art tour adds to the reasons to visit the neighborhood during the reopening process and beyond, to “let people come out, buy groceries, wander around and spend some time between the 35th and high and the neighborhood Way to be discovered in a fun and engaging setting, ”Swafford said.
Chris Treadway is a former reporter, columnist, and editor for the Bay Area News Group, which specializes in community news and local history.
For your information
The Laurel District Association: laureldistrictassociation.org
The GoFundMe page of the Laurel Civil Rights Mural Project: gofund.me/51b93d3c
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