Bringing color and intrigue to the urban landscape, murals have helped build community and raise social awareness in Oakland for years. Widespread mural painting in the city began in the 1960s with the rise of the Black Panther Party. As the Party expanded their activism, public services, and political activities, they enlisted the help of local artists to spread their message of building community and self-reliance. One such painter was Emory Douglas, the Black Panther’s minister of culture, whose art consolidated the Party’s values and goals into powerful images. In works such as We Shall Survive. Without a Doubt, Douglas uses bold colors and symbols to portray the power of Black citizens and their experiences in the U.S. With their work deemed inappropriate by private exhibitions, creatives like Douglas would turn to the city as a canvas for their work: they painted murals not only to make Oakland more beautiful, but to tell its cultural stories, representing the lives and perspectives of those who were excluded from traditional means of storytelling.
For most of recent history, mural painting was illegal. Classified as “graffiti art,” artists risked legal penalties for creating their work. However, this art form has become more widely accepted as various groups engage in mural creation for social good. Organizations like The Dream Krew (TDK) Collective consist of career artists—each with their own unique style—who have been active since 1985. Others like the Black Cultural Zone (BCZ), a collective of local arts organizations, businesses, and residents, are run like nonprofits that aim to inform and educate viewers about social justice issues. In 2020, there was a rise in mural painting, with many created in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and depicting people including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others who lost their lives to police brutality. Murals should continue to be an important part of creating social change and showcasing the lives of Oakland’s residents as the city continues to evolve.
Cover image credit: Visit Oakland
