New mural honors Sacramento’s railroad legacy

By Marie-Elena Schembri | Solving SacramentoKevin Hecteman, Sacramento Southern Railroad conductor and California State Railroad Museum marketing and communications manager, traded in his conductor cap for a paintbrush on Sunday, Sept. 15 as one of dozens who helped lay down the first brushstrokes for a community mural commemorating the contribution of railroads — and those who built them — to industry and agriculture at the California State Railroad Museum.The 29-foot-long mural honors the railroad’s history and diverse workforce, including women and people of color, and will be displayed in a new exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum once complete. Local artists and representatives from the railroad museum and Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum collaborated on the design.The mural pays tribute to historic contributions by people of color to America’s railroads including Black porters and two historical figures: African-American inventor Elijah McCoy and Olive Dennis, a female pioneer in railroad engineering, while nodding to future innovation in locomotion.A 29-foot-long mural honoring the railroad’s history and celebrating its diverse workforce will be displayed in a new exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum. (Photo by Marie-Elena Schembri) Shonna McDaniels paints on Sept. 15. McDaniels is the CEO and founder of the...