LA Rams unveil 2,000-square-foot mural in Monterey Park in recognition of AAPI Heritage Month

Irene Cruz Image
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Rams unveil mural in Monterey Park in honor of AAPI Heritage Month
The Rams unveiled a mural for the Monterey Park community in continuation of the team's recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Tuesday.

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- The Rams unveiled a mural for the Monterey Park community in continuation of the team's recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Tuesday.

The mural features bold shades of blue, orange and gold. The Rams partnered with artist DJ Javier to create the 2,000-square-foot hand painted piece of art titled "Resilient Forever."

"The Rams stand up for all Angelenos. We stand up for all of our fans across the entire market as well as globally. So investing in places like Monterey Park is very partial to who we are," said Kat Frederick, the L.A. Rams chief marketing officer.

The mural features a dragon and six stars at the George E. Elder Memorial Park Gymnasium.

Javier said he tried to capture the courage, strength and boldness of the AAPI community. Which, for him, matched the emotion and encouragement he needed growing up.

"What would speak to me, and make me feel brave, and powerful, and have a sense of perseverance and I thought the dragon would be a good symbol of that, something that feels fierce," said Javier.

Several Monterey Park leaders and Supervisor Hilda Solis attended the mural's unveiling. Solis praised Javier for his work and talked about why a project like this is so important, especially after the Lunar New Year shooting earlier this year.

"Your story is our story. Our story is also about immigrants and people coming together, and blending, and knowing no matter what comes before us, that we're gonna be resilient," said Solis.

After the unveiling, the Rams hosted a free football camp for more than 550 elementary school students to celebrate young members of the AAPI community.