"Generation on Fire" Canvas Tote Bag - the Great Wall of Los Angeles

A canvas tote bag featuring the "Generation on Fire" section from the Great Wall of Los Angeles 1960s expansion, created by artist Judith F. Baca and the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC).

The design depicts a powerful image of diverse activists locking arms across racial lines—a transgressive act in the 1960s—as they face the force of water hoses, recalling the infamous 1963 Birmingham attacks on peaceful civil rights marchers. In the background, a Greyhound bus arrives in Anniston, Alabama, where Freedom Riders were attacked by a white mob on May 14, 1961.

The bus carries notable Freedom Riders who risked their lives to protest racial segregation: Joan Mullholland, Catherine Burks-Brooks, Jean Thompson, Alex Weiss, Robert and Helen Singleton, Lula Mae White, Hank Thomas, Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), James Farmer, and John Lewis. Their courageous actions led to the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission banning segregation of bus and train stations on September 22, 1961.

A durable tote for everyday use that carries both your belongings and a piece of civil rights history.

Your purchase supports the ongoing development of the Great Wall of Los Angeles and the work of SPARC.