Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation Mural

BRING THE @sumudmuralproject TO LIFE The Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation Mural is underway in the heart of Oakland! This community project is an extension of the legacy of the Oakland to Palestine Solidarity Mural on its 10th anniversary, showcasing the rich history of organizing and international solidarity in Oakland. The Sumud Mural is a collaboration of over 30 local organizations and artists working together to create a piece that illustrates the interconnections between the brutal systems of imprisonment in the U.S. and Palestine. This mural will cover the space of approximately 4430 sq ft and will cost us $31,010 to finish. This averages at $7/sq ft to account for paint, brushes, and lifts, not including labor. Painting of the mural has already begun, but we need your support to help us maintain this project! With your assistance, we can bring to life this mural and use it as a backdrop for community events for years to come! Please donate what you can to our GoFundMe at bit.ly/sumudmural ‼️LINK IN BIO‼️

Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation Mural Project in Oakland Thank you to everyone who showed up in support of the Sumud mural project yesterday in Oakland. The Sumud mural project is a collaboration between artists and community members in the US and Palestine that explores and confronts the deep interconnections between the brutal systems of imprisonment affecting people in the US and Palestinians in the Zionist occupation. Over 25 local organizations and artists are involved in its creation. This historic mural serves as a demonstration of the Palestinian Liberation Movement’s vibrancy and a memorialization of this historical moment in our struggle globally and locally. Creating art is often a culturally political act and a testament to the imagination, brilliance, and creativity of people’s resistance to oppression, even behind bars or under brutal siege. As the US-Zionist genocide of Palestinians in Gaza continues into the ninth month, as Palestinians resistance to this genocide continues, and as we continue to confront Zionism and imperialism in the heart of empire, this mural affirms the Bay Area’s commitment to Palestinian liberation from Zionism and imperialism.

WE HONOR ASSATA SHAKUR in the Sumud mural in Oakland, California, passing on her revolutionary legacy to future generations of prisoners and freedom fighters. In our 5,000sqft community mural exploring the interconnections between systems of imprisonment in the US and Palestine, we feature two references to Assata. Both are featured on spoons with scenes designed by local organizations and artists. The spoon motif is inspired by the “Gilboa Six,” six Palestinian prisoners who dug their way out of Israel’s highest security prison using nothing but spoons. “These Chains Will Be Broken” is a 9ft tall spoon painted by @ray_of_light__art and conceived by @palestinianfeministcollective and California Coalition for Women Prisoners. The scene envisions the freedom of prisoners from California to Palestine. It depicts Palestinian prisoner Fatima Bernawi, quotes New Jersey prison escapee Assata Shakur, and references California prisoner George Jackson, who was murdered by guards with Palestinian poet Samih Al Qasim’s “Enemy of the Sun” in his cell. “The Joy of Escape” is a 12ft wide spoon painted by @melaniecervantes , @jesusvbarraza , Elizabeth Blancas, Alex Camacho, and Jay Robyn and conceived by @criticalresistance . This scene celebrates the resolve of oppressed peoples to escape the confines of their oppressors. At the center are Assata Shakur and Sekou Odinga, a fellow Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member who helped Assata escape from prison in 1979. The other six faces are of the “Gilboa Six.” — The Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation mural is a reminder of past and present resistance, a hopeful vision of the future we are working toward, a visual tool for public political education, and a vibrant space to hold organizing events. Completed in the summer of 2024, the mural involved dozens of Bay Area organizations, who worked with local, international, and incarcerated artists to bring their visions to life. The mural’s title, SUMUD, is an Arabic word meaning “the steadfast will to survive, endure, and remain connected to the land.” View the mural at Uptown Auto Body in Oakland or online at sumudmuraloakland.org.

An extraordinary community effort in Oakland, CA, to use art and murals to show the connections between oppression of indigenous people, the Black liberation movement, and the free Palestine movement. Thank you to the artists and those who are working towards freeing people here at home and abroad.

Last weekend, @aljuthoor.dabke danced with community members, artists and performers at the @sumudmural in Oakland, California for “Árabe Mahrajan,” to explore and celebrate the intersection of Syrian and Mexican culture. The event, presented by @arab.amp , featured performing artist Amanda Ekery @ae_eeeeee , Antifason @somosantifason , @dj.ari.b , and more. We thank @Arab.amp for presenting a powerful and joyful celebration of intersectionality and culture. Video credit: Lenny Gonzalez @millennyem #dabke #oakland #california #palestine #freepalestine

Árabe Mahrajan: A Community Gathering Saturday, July 12th 2025 1pm-6pm @ the SUMUD Mural in Oakland Free Join Arab.AMP for a community gathering of live music, cross-cultural performances, food, crafts, and togetherness. Árabe Mahrajan is built around the album release and live performance of Amanda Ekery @ae_eeeeee  and her touring musicians. Ekery is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer with roots in Syria and Mexico, her work explores the shared history and culture of her heritage. Amanda’s recent project contains original songs and accompanying essays with the stories and history behind each track, covering everything from food, gambling, and evil eyes to immigration law, biracial identity, and the fraught relationship between immigrant entrepreneurship and workers’ rights. Presented by Arab.AMP, a program of DANCE ELIXIR, Hewlett Foundation, National Performance Network, and the California Art Council.

SUMUD : Resistance Until Liberation mural project and Uptown Auto Body and Fender welcome you at Pilgrimage stop #4. See the mural and hear from the SUMUD artists. On June 8th, 2025 join @interfaith4ceasefire and @im4humanintegrity to join our pilgrimage in public witness for the Palestinian Right of Return to their homes and families and affirm the human right to remain, return, and migrate. We will journey 22 miles - from Alameda to Berkeley - journeying in prayer and solidarity with the right to return , symbolizing the distance from Rafah to Gaza City. This pilgrimage is part of the global movement of Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages that began last year and continues on. We gather in pilgrimage across spiritual and cultural communities because we uphold human life, dignity and mutual well-being as foundations of our spiritual beliefs. We recognize that the atrocities being carried out by U.S. tax dollars against the Palestinian people are intertwined with cruel and harmful U.S. policies of family separation, incarceration and criminalization that harms immigrants, unsheltered people, indigenous, trans and BIPOC communities. The SUMUD mural project is a collaboration between artists and activists in the U.S. and Palestine that explores and confronts the deep interconnections between the brutal systems of imprisonment in the U.S. and Palestine. The mural serves as a demonstration of the Palestinian Liberation Movement’s vibrancy and memorialization of this historical moment in our struggle globally and locally. To learn more visit: sumudmuraloakland.org A focal point of the SUMUD mural is the Liberation Wall featured in this post. It was painted by the Palestinian Youth Movement and Sogorea Te’Land Trust. It is a manifestation of our shared dream of liberation for all Native people from Lisjan Ohlone lands to Palestine. We are connected by the Earth’s waters, undivided by “borders”, and united by a love of life and land. We follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, who have resisted colonization for centuries, and those who are now leading us on the frontlines towards freedom. Learn more and Register to Join: bit.ly/RightofReturnPilgrimage (link in bio)

Liberation is not given, it is achieved through protracted struggle and incomprehensible sacrifice. At this past weekend’s Prisoners Day event, we asked community members to share messages of solidarity to our prisoners, their families, and the leaders of our struggle back home. Attendees offered words of hope, strength, and affirmation. They reminded us that prisoners are our north star, our compass, and the heart of our struggle. Captive within zionist prisons, concentration camps, and torture chambers, they continue the fight for liberation with a steadfastness and clarity of political vision that we strive for and learn from. The Sumud mural depicts many of our prisoners and their stories of captivity, escape, release, and political contributions to the broader liberation struggle. To our parents, children, elders, and youth resisting genocide and occupation behind bars: we will fight for you until the prison gates flood open. Until you break your chains with your own hands. Until you touch the faces of your beloveds and taste the sea and sleep in your homes. We will struggle alongside you from our position within the belly of the beast until you are home, until all of Palestine is free.

This Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, we honor all Palestinians held captive in zionist prisons. We witness the walls of the mural come to life with the release of Khalida Jarrar, Zakaria Zubeidi, Mohammed Al Ardeh and Layan Kayed. Their freedom is owed to the sumud (steadfastness) of the people both outside and behind prison walls. Prisoners are the compass of our struggle. Their organization and study from within prison cells has given them the clarity and discipline to lead the people towards liberation. Freedom for Palestinian prisoners has always been a central demand in our movement. It is with their steadfastness and guidance that Palestinians have continued to struggle for liberation for over 75 years. Join us April 19th @ 2pm at the Sumud Mural to honor decades of patient sacrifice and steadfast struggle. May all Palestinians be freed and may their release bring Palestine closer to total liberation.

BAY AREA: Join us for Palestinian Prisoners Day to honor the steadfast struggle of our prisoners and reaffirm our collective commitment to resistance and liberation. The liberation of our prisoners has always been at the forefront of the Palestinian struggle. For over 75 years, Zionist prisons have sought to crush the Palestinian revolution, but our prisoners remain steadfast in their commitment to struggle. As the occupation wages a brutal campaign of mass imprisonment, torture, and murder, and repression intensifies here in the imperial core, centering the prisoners’ struggle is more urgent than ever. 📆 Saturday April 19th @ 2pm-6pm 📍SUMUD Mural 401 26th St, Oakland, CA This commemorative event will feature a panel discussion, live music, and interactive activities centered on our prisoners who represent the national struggle and continue to confront the Zionist regime from behind bars.

This week, I’m joined by two of the many artists and organizers behind the “Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation Mural” @sumudmuralproject in Oakland, CA — Jackie Romero @graciashabibti of the Palestinian Youth Movement @bayareapym @PalestinianYouthMovement and Nathaniel Moore of the Freedom Archives. We also hear audio from incarcerated artist Kevin Cooper @FreeKevinCooper , who contributed a piece to the mural from Death Row. 🔗 LINK IN BIO TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE In the words of the mural organizers “In both the U.S. and Palestine, creating art is often a political act and a testament to the imagination, brilliance, and creativity of people’s resistance to oppression, even behind bars. At this time, as death and destruction rain down on the people of Gaza and Palestine, painting this mural together as a community can affirm our collective commitment to resistance and liberation.” Have you visited the Sumud Mural yet? If so, tell us about what it has meant to you in the comments! You can see each panel of the Sumud mural, read the artists’ statements, and donate at SumudMuralOakland.org. After donating to the mural, if you have funds remaining, please consider supporting the podcast by joining the Patreon at patreon.com/thatshowthelightgetsinpodcast.

On Sunday, October 13th, over 500 people came together to reveal the “Sumud: Resistance until Liberation” mural in the heart of Uptown, Oakland, unceded Ohlone territory. This historic mural is the accumulation of two years of planning, six months of painting, and the collaboration of over 50 artists and community organizations worldwide. The 4000 ft² mural powerfully embodies the interconnected struggles of imprisonment, border walls, and resistance to colonization, from Oakland to Palestine. After a year of an unrelenting gепосidе of our people in Gaζa, it is more important than ever to create art that uplifts the ṣumūḍ, steadfastness, of the Palestiпiап people. The Bay Area has taken mass action to stop this gепосidе in a multitude of ways – mass mobilizations, freeway and bridge shutdowns, and divestment resolutions – and the Ṣumūḍ mural highlights the importance of cultural resistance as a site of struggle. The mural reminds us that resistance is not just a moment but a movement—alive in every brushstroke, across every wall, from Turtle Island to Palеstiпе. Video by @nejmedia_ #palestine #sumud #sumudmural #bayarea #oakland #Gaza #armsembargonow #Lebanon #mural #painting #artinspo