Module 5: Banglatowns, Public Art, and Symbols of Community Formation
What histories do Bangladeshi Americans embody?
Image 07.05.01a — Tanzila Ahmed, a political activist born and raised in Los Angeles, California, poses with hand-painted alponas (traditional Bengali folk art) in the neighborhood of Little Bangladesh in Los Angeles.
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In Los Angeles, vibrant murals in shades of blue, red, and green bring life to some of the most iconic figures and symbols from Bangladeshi history. The artworks sit atop a corner building and feature several prominent figures: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh; Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali Nobel laureate; and Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh. The murals also include a painting of the Shaheed Minar, the national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh erected to honor the martyrs of the 1952 Bengali Language Movement in what was then East Pakistan.
In this module we discuss how Bangladeshi Americans have shaped US urban landscapes through public art and commemorative structures.
How do Bangladeshi Americans make themselves visible in the United States?
How do public art installations such as murals encourage belonging and signify community formation?
What role does having spaces such as Little Bangladesh throughout the US play for the Bangladeshi American and greater community?
