Dozens of people gathered at the Arizona Motel parking lot on South Sixth Avenue on Sunday, Feb. 22, to paint a historical community mural celebrating 100 years of Black History Month.
The University of Arizona Black Student Union, in collaboration with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, hosted the community mural event to honoring the past, present and future of Black resistance and liberation.
“We really wanted to make sure that we could do something where the community could participate and something that could also last a long time and would still be here for the community to see,” said Aurora Ramirez, an organizer with Party for Socialism and Liberation.
A local DJ played his set and various speakers shared stories before attendees started painting. The Party for Socialism and Liberation had two tents set up for free food and drinks and sold merchandise like shirts and posters. All the proceeds were donated to the Black Student Union
The mural consists of three wooden panels nailed to a railing in the front of the Arizona Motel parking lot. The mural can be seen by cars and pedestrians passing by.
“It’s nice that the community can come together for Black liberation and connections to socialism, and having that expressed through art is very powerful,” said Quincy Mouzet, an attendee of the event and a member of Students for Socialism.
Meaning behind the mural
“We chose to include those three figures to show the progression of our story of resistance and racial tradition,” said Brandon Rogers, president of the UA Black Student Union.
At the bottom of that panel, a figure showing a man with broken chains holding a spear and a gun is a recreation of the seal used in the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society.
“The spear represents colonial resistance going all the way back to the shores of Africa. The AK-47 represents the modern resistance and post-colonial struggles,” Rogers said.
The center panel of the mural symbolizes present-day Black resistance and “forces that are on the backs of Black people today,” Rogers said.
It includes phrases like “Abolish ICE,” “Free Palestine” and “Black Lives Matter,” that “represent the other struggles that we have taken part in as an organized and knowledgeable group of people who understand that our freedom cannot come at the expense of others and we do not exist in the background,” he said.
The final panel was inspired by the African Renaissance Statue in Dakar, Senegal, Roger said. The largest statue in Africa, it depicts a man, woman and child facing forward.
In the mural, the family is on a pedestal, “moving upwards, holding the world aloft, because we truly feel that the liberation of Black people is the first step to the liberation of all oppressed people around the world,” Rogers said.
Choosing South Tucson
Organizers painted the mural in the historic Arizona Motel in the City of South Tucson because, at one point, it was one of the only places where Black people could stay, either to rent or when they were visiting, Rogers said.
“This is one of the poorest areas of Tucson, but it’s also one of the most community-oriented, one of the most organized areas of Tucson that is putting together the struggle for the freedoms and dignities of its community members,” he said of the choice of location.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation worked with Roxanna Valenzuela, the mayor of South Tucson, and Casa Maria Soup Kitchen, which purchased the Arizona Motel in Sept. 2023.
Attendees paint a mural at the Arizona Motel on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. They were encouraged to leave their mark on the mural.
“The most important part of the event is connecting Black history with Black liberation and the liberation of us all,” Ramirez said. “Historically Black folks in America have led any struggle, any civil rights that we won have been because of the tenacity and passion of Black Americans.”
The mural is located at the Arizona Motel at 1749 S. Sixth Ave.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
