{"id":68680,"date":"2024-11-19T10:10:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=68680"},"modified":"2024-11-20T10:12:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T18:12:17","slug":"barger-artist-and-community-leaders-unveil-giant-mural-in-sun-village-honoring-black-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=68680","title":{"rendered":"Barger, Artist and Community Leaders Unveil Giant Mural in Sun Village, Honoring Black Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Titled “Lifting as we climb”, a new massive tile mosaic is now permanently installed at Jackie Robinson Park<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Click<\/p>\n

Image of “The Light of Many Suns,” the new mosaic installed at Jackie Robinson Park (Photo credit: Karen Quincy Loberg\/LA County)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Under a fall blue sky filled with sunshine and crisp morning air, community members of all ages applauded and cheered with pride this past Saturday as a stunning new mural honoring Sun Village\u2019s unique African American heritage and achievements was revealed for the first time.<\/p>\n

Measuring 44 feet wide and 11 feet tall, the tile mosaic is now permanently installed on the\u00a0Jackie Robinson Park<\/a>\u00a0gymnasium wall. Titled \u201cThe Light of Many Suns,\u201d the mural was created through a collaboration between artist April Banks,\u00a0Kounkey Design Initiative<\/a>,\u00a0Clockshop<\/a>, and\u00a0Los Angeles County\u2019s Department of Parks and Recreation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supervisor Kathryn Barger contributed a $250,000 commission from Los Angeles County\u2019s Fifth Supervisorial District to fund the magnificent mosaic, which was inspired by Sun Village oral histories and archives.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, community meetings were held with Sun Village elders and younger generations of residents. Artist April Banks conducted a series of presentations on her concept renderings and worked with Clockshop and Kounkey Design Initiative to gather feedback that ultimately informed the mural\u2019s design and content.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis beautiful mural is a fitting tribute to the rich history and vibrant community in Sun Village,\u201d\u00a0said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger<\/strong>. \u201cIt was created in close collaboration with local residents, so this artwork has a lot of meaning and will be a source of inspiration, beauty, and education for future generations of Antelope Valley residents. It will undoubtedly help them celebrate and learn about the people and places that make Sun Village such a special place to live, work, and play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/p>\n

Supervisor Barger enjoys a laugh with Aaron Bolden, grandson of baseball legend Jackie Robinson (Photo credit: Karen Quincy Loberg\/LA County)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Jackie Robinson<\/a>\u2019s grandson, Aaron Bolden, attended the ceremony at the park named after the American baseball legend who broke color lines and became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. He joined Supervisor Barger in signing a poster commemorating attendees at the unveiling.<\/p>\n

The mosaic\u2019s unveiling was also attended by scores of community leaders and residents, ranging from elementary schoolers to nonagenarians. The mood was both celebratory and nostalgic.<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/p>\n

Community members react to unveiling of new mosaic (Photo credit: Karen Quincy Loberg\/LA County)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Sun Village community was formed by generations of African American families who, in the first half of the 20th century, determinedly carved out a home in the high desert, far away from the discriminatory housing practices and laws prevalent in neighboring cities. This fearless community\u2013led by\u00a0The Civic Women\u2019s Club of Sun Village<\/a>\u2013built churches, educational institutions, gas lines, sewers, and wells, and established the historic landmark Jackie Robinson Park as a recreational green space for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen African Americans began moving to Sun Village in the 1950s, the area lacked even basic infrastructure\u201d, said\u00a0Norma E. Garc\u00eda-Gonz\u00e1lez, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cResidents paved streets, installed streetlights and gas lines, and built the park themselves. The Women\u2019s Club of Sun Village organized bake sales and other fundraisers to purchase most of the land for the park, and then donated the land to LA County Parks. The park quickly became a hub for a thriving African American community for decades. We wanted to celebrate not only Jackie Robinson, but the inspiring history of these women and the Sun Village community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mural celebrates the women of The Civic Women\u2019s Club of Sun Village and their determination and effort to make Jackie Robinson an official park. Legacy events and experiences integral to Sun Village\u2019s identity and history are also depicted in smaller mosaic medallions. For more information regarding\u00a0The Light of Many Suns<\/em>\u00a0project, visit\u00a0clockshop.org\/project\/jackie-robinson-park<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Titled “Lifting as we climb”, a...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68681,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68680\/revisions\/68681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}