Anti-Bias Club finalizes the design of the Black Lives Matter mural
Story by Alison wang
Editor-in-chief
Image courtesy of Zach Brown
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The Public Arts Commission approved the Anti-Bias Club’s updated designs for a Black Lives Matter (BLM) mural in Orange Grove Park at its meeting on Wednesday, September 22. This approval follows the efforts of more than a year of club members. to design and find a location for their anti-racism mural.
Seniors Noah Kuhn and Lulu Talesnick founded the Anti-Bias Club in October 2019 after attending a school-sponsored Anti-Defamation League training, and recruited equity-minded students to make SPHS and the community more inclusive. In June 2020, club leaders formed a five-member committee – made up of Talesnick, Kuhn, junior Alexa Morales, senior Maya Turun and 2021 alumnus Khalil Murdock – to create a mural after the George Floyd’s murder and subsequent BLM protests nationwide. . The committee began the process by soliciting feedback from the community through Zoom, before settling on a vision of intersectionality, resilience and celebration. An ad hoc committee of the Public Arts Commission headed by President Phung Huynh helped the students launch a request for proposals to local artists. Out of about twenty applications, the first three were selected and were interviewed.
The group chose Zach Brown in November 2020 for his background as a visual artist, teacher of incarcerated youth and activist at the California African American Museum, as well as for his interactive design. Collaborations to complete the design met with a temporary roadblock when the city shut down the original location at City Hall for liability reasons. The group pivoted to the Orange Grove Park site and successfully applied for authorization for use from the Parks and Recreation Commission. The new location required an updated design, so the group returned to the Public Arts Commission for the fifth time on September 22.
The mural is a celebration of black people and black power, with the overall goal of promoting anti-racism in South Pasadena. Rather than focusing on the victimization of blacks, the fresco instead chooses to elevate influential black figures, such as Marsha P. Johnson, Ida B. Wells, and Angela Davis.
“The purpose of the mural is to educate and raise awareness of important black figures and the black community in general,” Talesnick said. “[We want] to highlight and celebrate the many different aspects and intersectionality of the black community.
The rays of the sun in the foreground of the mural represent South Pasadena’s past as a city at sunset, which meant that BIPOC was not allowed within city limits at night. South Pasadena was virtually all white until the early 1960s when the federally funded Monterey Hills was mandated to be open to everyone.
The mural also features local BLM protesters London Lang and Fahren James, who catalyzed conversations about racism in South Pasadena. Additionally, the right end of the mural is intentionally left blank so that people can stand up, meaning that everyone has a role to play in the anti-racist movement.
“I hope this can usher in a new era of change in southern Pasadena,” said Turun. “And educate on the history of the city as a city at sunset [which is] an important part of our history that few people know.
The Anti-Bias Club will soon present the BLM mural to City Council for approval, after which it can start raising $ 10,000 for the project to be painted.
Anti-Bias Club finalizes the design of the Black Lives Matter mural was last modified: 23 October 2021 through