Guided by artists Zero Bey and his son, Taariq Aakil-Bey, creativity has been on the agenda of Rio Rancho High School Black Student Union sessions lately. Students painted symbols and faces on a colorful drop-cloth mural recently, wrapping up the colorful creation during a recent club meeting.
The placard next to the mural, which now hangs on display in the RRHS Humanities Building, says “the symbols that are bordering the mural are called Adinkra symbols, which originated from West Africa. Some of these symbol meanings include God, patience, tolerance, greatness, charisma, leadership, courage, wisdom, creativity, divinity of Mother Earth, change, good fortune, sanctity, loyalty, knowledge, faith, trust, patience, love, faithfulness, harmony, morality, transformation, support, etc. Throughout the center of the cloth, there are silhouettes of Black peoples, which BSU felt had a huge purpose on this mural. Rather than using famous cultural figures and icons, BSU wanted to focus more on African Americans as people and represent the culture as a whole unit of peoples, men and women, which is why the simple silhouette was the right choice for this mural.”
Great job Black Student Union Students for working on such a culturally rich project and for sharing it to our school and the RRPS community.