In an effort to raise awareness and consciousness about issues facing the Guadalupe Washington neighborhood of San Jose, Santa Clara University students teamed up with community members to have a mural painted at Washington Elementary School. Seven undergraduates enrolled in SCU’s Community Based Participatory Action Resource course spent 20 weeks photographing neighborhood concerns and collecting information on ways to address housing insecurity, illegal dumping, scant resources for children with special learning needs and other issues plaguing the area.
The mural, Entrepreneurial Mothers: Mosaics of the Community, is the result of the students working with 11 Mexican immigrant mothers, Madres Emprendedoras (Entrepreneurial Mothers) and muralist Carlos Rodriguez to bring neighborhood concerns to life. Rodriguez’s painting hopes to “build community, sense of belonging and opportunities for dialogue toward action,” according to a statement from the university.
The brightly colored creation depicting a house, food, a baby in utero, flowers, monarch butterflies and puzzle pieces was unveiled on Sept. 21 at 100 Oak St. in San Jose.
