Celebrating Language Diversity in Imperial Valley

Bilingual education is unnecessarily controversial in our community. Research has shown that receiving an education that includes your native language is key for future success. Far too often personal and political ideologies get in the way of children's education. One major culprit has been the passage of Proposition 227, which ended 30 years of bilingual educational programs in California to enforce an "English Only" policy. It took California almost 20 years to change this by passing Proposition 58, unfortunately, the seemingly immesuarable damage to countless marginalized students had already been made. This mural's purpose is to celebrate language diversity by including spine covered tentacles holding signs with greetings in 11 different languages that are spoken in Imperial Valley. Hopefully, this vibrantly colored mural will help not just beautify the community, but also bring a sense of awareness and acceptance.