Chicago murals: American flag painting in Pilsen shows the United States as a nation of immigrants

Driving south on Ashland Avenue in Pilsen, you might catch a glimpse of an American flag mural at West 21st Street next to an insurance agent's office.

But look closer if you're stopped at the light or walking to nearby Benito Juarez Community Academy, and in that extra time you can see that the flag honors American immigrants.

“I thought it would be a nice message to send to remind the world that the U.S. is a country founded on immigrants, and it’s always been a melting pot,” says muralist Henry Gonzalez of Archer Heights, who completed the work in 2023.

Red silhouettes of people marching across the flag form six red stripes on an alternating white background.

“That was a representation of all people and all walks of life coming to the U.S.,” Gonzalez says.

In the field of blue on the left, a young migrant child peeks out from a bundle wrap on his mother’s back. Fifty stars are positioned in an arc above them.

“It represents a migrant child not having control over his life, but his mom is looking out for him in search of a better life for him,” as she makes the trek north to the United States, Gonzalez says.

The mural should “let the world know…some people don’t have a choice,” he says. “Some people are brought here, and that’s all they know.”

The mural is one of a handful that Gonzalez has painted for First Western Properties, a Chicago-based commercial real estate firm. His work has been featured on single-family homes, multi-unit residential buildings and commercial restaurants.

Polychronis (Paul) Tsakiris, president of First Western Properties, says Gonzalez is “a very talented artist who’s also very humble and easy to work with.”

His company typically gives Gonzalez free reign to paint what he wants, as long as it’s “positive, uplifting to the community and not controversial,” Tsakiris says.

The flag mural is in the heart of Pilsen, a neighborhood that has welcomed generations of Latino immigrants and, before that, Bohemian immigrants from the Czech Republic. It’s a mural that Tsakiris says he and others at his company — which both rents to and employs recent immigrants — have wanted to feature for some time.

“We’re really proud of the concept of that mural,” Tsakiris says. “We feel strongly that immigrants are the lifeblood of America. It’s the American spirit.”

A sign next to the mural recognizes Gonzalez by his artist name, Gape One, and reads, “What makes America great is its people who come from everywhere in [the] world for freedom and opportunity! God Bless America!”