By: Yassir Azzam
What initially appears to be organized chaos soon reveals itself as something more: threads of curiosity, passion, and creativity woven seamlessly together.
Walking into the Black & Latino Male Initiative (BLMI) lounge, it’s impossible to miss the mural that stretches across the wall. At first glance, the piece feels overwhelming, its bold colors, intricate layers, and circular patterns almost flashing with energy. At the center, a vivid red bird commands attention, framed by interwoven blues, blacks, and busts of green that resemble leaves.
The mural is more than paint on a wall; it is the product of four months of collaboration between BLMI members and faculty, who met once a week during the spring semester, from January through April, to complete it.
“Not a single one of us actually knew the other person when we started,” Johanna Ramos reflected. “And now, looking at it, you see all of us in there.”
The Sankofa bird placed at the mural’s heart carries deep meaning. Its body moves forward while its head looks back, a West African symbol urging reflection on the past in order to move toward the future.
“It translates to ‘go back and get it,’ symbolizing that to move forward, you need to look back into your past,” said Shadiq Williams, Program Coordinator for BLMI.
For the group, the bird represents Black and Latino students whose histories and futures intertwine on campus.
Around the bird, other details take shape. BC student Oji Miller-Fernandes drew inspiration from African Kente cloth patterns and a Japanese art technique called “notan”, which is the layering of geometric designs that became the mural’s background.
Rosashia Shortte, another BC student, contributed patchwork elements that reflect her belief that, “even if you don’t know where you’re going, it can still end up with something beautiful.”
The circles that catch the eye aren’t just abstract; they’re also a steel pan drum, which Julia Cocuzza, Adjunct Mural Professor, described as “something shared across cultures.”
Roots, both literal and symbolic, hold the mural together.
“The tree signifies your roots, where you are, where you stand, how you started,” explained Ramos. “On our campus, we all start somewhere, and you grow into this huge collective of things that a tree signifies.”
From initial sketches to heated debates to final brushstrokes, the mural reflects not just individual creativity but the power of collaboration. What began as strangers working side by side has become a living symbol of community. The mural, like the people who made it, holds space for difference and unity, reminding students who walk into Brooklyn College that growth is always collective.
For more information regarding BLMI, please visit their official Instagram account, @bcblmi.