Asian Pacific Celebration

Created in 2004, The Asian & Pacific Islander Mural tells the story of hard-working and determined people who fought for the rights of their community, as well as honoring those who continue the fight today.

Among the people included on the mural are: Yuri Kochiyama, Angel Santos, Mohandas Gandhi, Tupua Tamasese, Queen Liliuokalani, Queen Salote, Lakshmi Bai, Larry Dulay Itliong, Ahn Chang Ho and Haunani-Kay Trask.

The Japanese American Redress and Reparations, Third World Strike at SFSU, Chinatown Red Guard Party and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan also appear on the mural, as well as a kava bowl, a central tree with Elephants of Laos, rice stalks and a dove.

Kochiyama, who is a Bay Area native, is a strong voice for ethnic studies and workers’ rights and works towards reparations for the Japanese-Americans incarcerated during World War II. She is shown on the mural with her fist held tightly in the air.

Surrounding Kochiyama on the mural are Gandhi, Santos – who served as democratic senator in the Guam legislatures; former Samoan Head of State Tamasese – who was one of the framers of the Constitution of Samoa; and the depiction of rice stalks and a dove – which are symbolic of peace.

The last monarch of the Hawai’ian islands, Queen Liliuokalani, sits near a central tree with three Elephants of Laos, which represent the different regions and cultures of Laos, and a large kava bowl, which signifies unity and hospitality.

Also shown on the mural is Queen Salote, who was the Queen of Tonga from 1918-1965, and was the last monarch in Polynesia. Positioned near Salote is Bai, who was the queen of a principality called Jhansi in northern India in the 17th century. Only in her 20s, she was a great heroine of India’s War of Independence in 1857 against the British. Embodying nationalism and heroism, she died in the revolt.

The far right of the mural features Itliong who was the founder of the Filipino Farm Labor Union in California in 1956, cofounder of the United Farm Workers of America, and a key organizer and vice president of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Near him is Ho, who established the Young Korean Association, and was a leader and organizer in the early Korean American community and Korean Independence Movement. Lastly, Trask is shown with her fist clenched in the air. She is a professor of Hawai’ian Studies at the University of Hawai’i and a Native Hawaiian nationalist.

The mural was commissioned by the Student Center Governing Board and is located on the South Plaza of Cesar Chavez Student Center.