This mural, designed and painted by the community, represents the rich history and cultures of the South East Stockton neighborhoods around Williams Brotherhood Park. Painted on a handball wall structure, it also engages with the connections of handball to those cultures and in the park.
The mural incorporates symbols and colors from the the Mexican-American/Chicano community, the African-American/Black community, and the Filipino-American/Pinoy community – three populations with a long history in the neighborhoods around Williams Brotherhood Park. The mural’s underlining message is strength through unity.
American Handball has an ancient history in the Americas, going back as far as 1500 B.C.E. as the “Mesoamerican Ballgame”. The Aztecs played a very similar game in the 14th and 15th centuries in present-day central Mexico. Stockton has carried forward that legacy, with handball courts in several local parks and tournaments organized on many spring and summer weekends.
This mural celebrates the diversity of handball players who have used the court over the years. The players are depicted wearing the school colors of Edison High School and Saint Mary’s High School (honoring students from those schools who helped to paint the mural).
The Black and Brown hands are embraced in a handshake, symbolizing kinship and brotherhood between different communities, which lead to unity and strength. This is made quite literal by the forearm tattoos, which read “strength” & “unidos” (“unidos” being the Spanish word for unity).
The backdrop of the mural is a sun, resembling the one on the official flag of the nation of the Philippines, rising from an oceanscape scene. Both of these images are meant to celebrate and honor the people of the island nation. Furthermore, the national flower of the Philippines, the Sampaguira Jasmine, is arranged in a triangle configuration to mimic the 3 stars on the Filipino flag, with the Sun in the center.
The text on the scroll is Tagalog, a primary native language of the Philippines, and reads “Matibay ang walis, palibhasa’y magkabigkis.” This translates to “A broom is sturdy because its strands are tightly bound.” This is meant to convey another message of unity, echoing the handshake mural on the other side of the handball court: We are stronger when we stand together.
Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. Placing them beak to beak is a visual symbol of people and nations coming together in peace and harmony. The twine between the beaks is intended to symbolize the efforts of people of all backgrounds and races to bind the broom strands tightly to achieve the goal of strength and unity.
The colorful pattern around the borders of the playing space is meant to mimic a Mexican serape, imagery that honors the Mexican community around the park. A serape is a Mexican poncho, or shawl. Yet, in recent years it has also become a simple blanket, and as such it can be seen as a symbol of security, warmth, and comfort. Colors from the Mexican, Filipino, and African-American Heritage flags have been worked into its color patterns.
The playing surface is left plain so that handball players can use it as before, with the ball clearly visible against it.
This mural on the handball court at Williams Brotherhood Park was developed by Reinvent South Stockton Coalition in partnership with the community around the park and in South Stockton. We began with a resident survey that received 140 responses. RSSC selected a lead artist team, 3MCo, in late 2022 after evaluating proposals from three local companies.
A Community Design Team of local residents, including handball players and youth, then worked with the artists during early 2023 to develop and improve design ideas, based in part on the survey data. The design was then reviewed and approved by the City of Stockton’s Arts Commission, with Commission members offering constructive suggestions.
Thank you to everyone who participated in designing this mural!
The mural design was painted onto the handball court during Fall 2023 – Spring 2024 by community residents, including art students from Edison High School and Saint Mary’s High School, during school days and weekends. The lead artists were Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Moreno & Jon Quinones. Thanks to Angel Hernandez and his son for clearing old layers of paint from the surfaces.
Reinvent South Stockton Coalition (RSSC) is a public-private-non-profit collective impact initiative working to empower residents of South Stockton.
For a glance at our work, including our core functions and activities, read our general overview.