The Joy of Escape

“The Joy of Escape” celebrates the unstoppable resolve of revolutionaries and oppressed peoples to escape the confines of their oppressors. The mural features the smiling faces of political prisoners from both Turtle Island and Palestine who resisted against imperialist oppression by heroically escaping their captivity. At the center are the faces of Sekou Odinga and Assata Shakur. Sekou Odinga was a member of the Black Panther and Black Liberation Army – revolutionary organizations that fought against racism and for the self-determination of Black communities in the 1960s and 70s – who helped Assata Shakur escape from prison in 1979. For this he was caged for 33 years in US prisons. “Baba” Sekou Odinga passed away in early 2024, after enjoying ten years of freedom. Assata Shakur is a revered presence in the legacy of Black liberation struggles, whose involvement with the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army led to her arrest. While imprisoned, Shakur refused to be broken by the prison system and in 1979, she made a daring escape from prison with the help of her comrades, including Sekou Odinga. Her ability to liberate herself from the confines of the carceral state represented a powerful act of resistance against the oppressive forces that seek to silence her to this day. The other six faces on the mural are of the “Gilboa Six” - Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel’s notoriously brutal Gilboa prison in 2021 using just spoons. This includes Zakaria Zubeidi, a beloved icon of resistance from the Jenin refugee camp, as well as Munadil Yaqoub Nfeiat, Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, Mohamed Qassem Ardah, Ayham Nayef Kmanji, and Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri.