Sacramento Powerful Chicana/Latina Trailblazers/Poderosas Mural Project
The project honors the lives and work of 9 women Trailblazers in order to inspire upcoming generations using the mural to tell their stories. Our fundraising efforts are grounded in Race, Equity, and Social Justice.
Leader
Rhonda Rios Kravitz
Location
3301 37th Ave Sacramento, CA 95824
About the project
The mural project celebrates Poderosas who have been trailblazers in the area and the nation. Through their work, they have made history and changed the world we live in for the better. They have conquered many barriers and have contributed to the health, well-being, and advancement of our Latinx communities. Yet, their stories are unknown despite their ongoing work in our communities.
The Poderosas have shaped our understanding of gender and race and they are uniquely positioned to lead us into a better future because of their lived experiences. Their stories help us understand what it means to be human, and as thoughtful residents, how to move to a more humane future.
The mural will be co created on movable panels by the renowned mural artist-educator Ruby Chacon and educator-artist Isabel Martinez. The mural will travel to various locations for a broader audience to access and view such as: La Familia and the Washington Neighborhood Center, K-12 schools, and cultural programs featured throughout the city and county of Sacramento. This community mural, in contrast to print and electronic media, where social divides persist in terms of access, is a powerful medium of grassroots neighborhood representation. It is a visual and public expression of cultural values, ethnic pride, and neighborhood identity, as well as a celebration of our social and political struggles. Community members, community organizations, K-12 students, college and university students, business owners, etc. will be invited to comment on the mural using social media and written comments.
The Steps
- Raise $15,000 in total.
- Funding will be used to pay art assistants and purchase materials to paint and install the mural
- Funding will also be used to work with educational experts to write a curriculum guide for middle and high school students and to develop a bilingual coloring book for grammar school students.
- When the mural is completed we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony. Donors along with grant funders, community partners, community members, and City Council and County Supervisors will be invited to the ceremony.
- Pictures will be posted on social media along with a press release announcing the completion of the mural.
Why we‘re doing it
The committee organizers of this project are dedicated to preserving imperiled Chicana/Latina histories and narratives. In this time of crisis with the corona virus causing a historic decimation of the Latinx community and ravaging generations of Latinx families in California and the nation, we as project organizers are committed to documenting how these Poderosas have defined/redefined their identities, pushed boundaries, and awakened community members politically in powerful ways. The mural will feature their bios via a QR code connected to the project website. In addition, the painting of the mural will be documented through the making of a documentary by documentarian Tomas Montoya.