Judy Bacas Great Wall of LA (Historical and Geographic and american dream aspect) - Essay Example

The community in which it exists is also highly diverse, including residents of Mexican, Indian and African descent, making a history of this nature seem entirely appropriate for the area and necessary for the state. Each panel depicts a different event in California history while can be pieced together through the 1960s. By looking at the panels that depict the California Gold Rush and California’s role in World War II, it is possible to see how the American Dream was shared by people of all races in the first and defended by people of all races in the second.

The panel depicting the California Gold Rush is an important point in history as it is the event that brought numerous white settlers out to the west to displace those individuals already living there. Panels before this depict the level of Indian and Mexican settlement that had already taken place, as well as Spanish domination. However, with the discovery of gold, more and more white settlers moved in from the east seeking their own fortunes. The panel begins innocently enough with the depiction of the discovery of gold and the arrival of gold seekers by ship.

Here is the American dream in action, with people of all colors coming to the California coast to seek their fortunes and pursue the American Dream of some property, a home to call their own and the ability to make their own livings. Included in the image are portraits of Mifflin W. Gibbs, who is identified on the wall’s official website as the publisher of the first Black newspaper, and Mary Ellen Pleasant, also identified on the same site as a civil rights activist who helped defend Blacks arraigned under the fugitive slave laws.

While the inclusion of these two figures is intended to indicate the positive impact of black people on California history, it also serves to remind viewers of the limited number of people of color that were able to have such an impact on the people of this time period. The inclusion of a