The Story

Jilchristina was born and raised in Chicago. In 1986, at 19yrs old she moved to The Bay. In 1995, after earning degrees in Black Studies, Women’s Studies, and Multicultural Education from SFSU and USF, Jil began her search for a home in West Oakland. She chose West Oakland because of its rich history of African American success and activism and because it’s the home of the Black Panther Party. After 2 years of searching and with the help of her friends and community, Jil bought this beautiful home. And 2.5 years later (with the help of her friends and community) it was restored to glory.

It is twenty years later and she has found a way to say thank you to Oakland, her friends, and community, and The Black Panther Party - all the reasons she is here.
This project is in conjunction with the #SayHerName movement, and in response to the continued violence and systematic oppression of BIWOC, and as a result of the chronic blindness towards and seeming invisibility of Black Women, Jilchristina decided to assemble a team and install a 2000 sq ft mural...on her house to honor the unknown and unseen heroes of The Black Panther Party. Let’s memorize the names of revolutionary women.