The common roots of two Santaneros Brandon Lopez and Zoraida Reyes are connected through geographic backgrounds but also express solidarity across differences in identities and lived experiences. Both their bodies were stripped of dignity and left unalived in public space. 

This mural RADICAL IMAGINATION Rooted in Community Care asks viewers to find the roots of solidarity through our shared experiences baring witness to the violence they experienced in public space.

All forms of violence in public spaces are deplorable— violence fueled by racism, misogyny, transphobia continue to fuel endemics of femicide and police brutality. These structural, cultural, and systemic social issues make it progressively threatening and increasingly dangerous for pedestrians, bike riders, bus users, and other community members of varying mobilities both in and out of vehicles. 

Often, stories like Brandon Lopez’s & Zoraida Reyes’ are subject to erasure of their multifaceted lived experiences. Murals projects like this one preserve the narrative honoring their lived experiences and the realities of threats everyday community members continue to experience or bear witness to in our streets. 

These murders are further testament to our anachronistic systems which enable further acts of violence in public spaces upon people whose identities are at higher and disproportionate risk to public violence. This mural advocates for accessible, safe, and inclusive public spaces for all and pays tribute to transgender women and brown men.