Honoring Lucy Gonzalez Parsons through Public Art
In August 2025, a powerful new mural titled More Dangerous Than a Thousand Rioters was unveiled on the Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Apartments in Logan Square. Created by celebrated muralist Hector Duarte in collaboration with the Chicago Public Art Group, the mural pays tribute to Lucy Gonzalez Parsons—a fearless labor organizer, writer, and public speaker who helped shape Chicago’s labor history.
The mural is named after a phrase once used by the Chicago Police Department to describe Parsons, whose activism was seen as a threat to the powerful systems she challenged. Her story is deeply tied to the 1886 Haymarket Affair and the fight for the Eight-Hour Day, making her a central and enduring figure in the history of labor rights and radical organizing.
Today, the Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Apartments provide 100 units of affordable housing, and the mural is both a commemoration and a visual celebration of community strength and organizing power.