The Light of Many Suns

Sun Village, CA.-With thunderous applause, the Sun Village community celebrated the unveiling of a new mural by artist April Banks called “The Light of Many Suns” at Jackie Robinson Park last weekend. The piece truly tells the story of the vibrant residents and rich history of resilience, unity, faith, and strength that has defined Sun Village for generations. The artwork will help future generations appreciate the determination of those who came before them and will encourage them to continually make their community a better place. I'm proud that my office could allocate $285,000 to help bring the extraordinary vision of this artwork to life. There’s no better space for the artwork than at the first park in the nation named after Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson, whose grandson Aaron joined us for the celebration! 

To really appreciate the artwork, it's important to have context about the history of this community. Sun Village was founded in 1939 to allow African American residents the opportunity to buy homes and create wealth. It was a haven—an escape from racist housing laws, redlining, and unfair lending practices—that these residents endured in neighboring communities. When African Americans began moving to Sun Village in the 1950s, they had to build the entire city infrastructure from scratch. They paved streets, built schools and churches, and installed streetlights and gas lines. Among their crowning achievements was founding the first ever Jackie Robinson Park in the nation. The Women’s Club of Sun Village organized bake sales and fundraisers to purchase the land for the park in 1958, donated the land to L.A. County, and the beautiful park opened in 1965. The group wanted a green space for children to play and the community to gather, and the park lived up to those dreams. I’d say all these years later, it still provides the perfect place to play, gather, and celebrate.