In 2005, the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation came up with a long term plan for this community – the Oakland 2025 Master Plan. Part of it involved more public art, and this mural was one of the projects they’ve since sponsored in an effort toward meeting that goal.
Meetings were held for community input on what this mural should look like. It was to represent and celebrate the Oakland community, showing the neighborhood’s diversity and character. The residents got to say something about how that was going to be done. After the first meeting, sketches were done based on the initial ideas and at a follow–up public meeting the proposals were considered and the final design selected.
MLK Community Murals Project handled the artistic side of things, and Oakland youths were hired and trained to execute the design. We can readily identify many of the neighborhood landmarks – places and things that make Oakland unique.