Visiting African American murals: a content analysis of Los Angeles, California

• Published in: Journal of tourism and cultural change Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 201 - 217
• Main Authors: de Miguel Molina, María, de Miguel Molina, Blanca, Santamarina Campos, Virginia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03-03-2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: African Americans; African-American culture and history; Cities; Community development; Content analysis; cultural tourism; Group identity; mural movement; mural routes; Murals; Preservation; public art; Los Angeles California; United States > US; California
• ISSN: 1476-6825; 1747-7654
• DOI: 10.1080/14766825.2019.1597877

In the twentieth century, several large cities in the United States used murals to promote African-American culture and issues. For example, California had three decades, known as the 'Golden Years' of Afro-American muralism, between the 1970s and the 1990s, although this movement lost steam over time. At the time, public policies in California encouraged muralism in cities like Los Angeles, but today, African-American murals are absent from the visitor's experience. However, literature has demonstrated that mural movements create positive effects as drivers of community development and identity preservation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore new mural routes in Los Angeles that could be an opportunity to showcase African-American issues, whilst adding value to the visitor's experience. For this purpose, we performed a content analysis of the literature and other documents related to these topics and we classified the city's most representative African-American murals.