Isaka Shamsud-Din 1940-2025
Isaka Shamsud-Din was an artist, activist, and educator known for his rich murals, paintings, and community projects in Portland. Much of his work celebrates the cultures of African Americans and people of the African Diaspora. His work has been exhibited at the Portland Art Museum, and in 2019, he was honored by Portland City Hall with the proclamation of “Isaka Shamsud-Din Day” in recognition of his life’s work as an artist and community leader.
Isaka was born in 1940 and his artistic talent was recognized early as a child. He won his first scholarship to a Portland Art Museum class at the age of 13 and proceeded to win scholarships to Midwestern Music and Art Camp at the University of Kansas. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland and attended Portland State University, where he painted his first mural.
Isaka would become known for his vibrant murals in Portland and for the mural programs he created over a 50-year span. He was director of the Albina Mural Project, and organized community art projects in the historically Black Albina neighborhood, where he and his family moved after being displaced by the Vanport flood of 1948. Isaka’s commitment to racial equality led him to Arkansas, where he worked for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee before moving to San Francisco in 1966, where he joined the Black Panther Party. He worked with the Black Arts West Repertory Theater and was an instructor at San Francisco State University. Isaka helped initiate the Black Studies program at San Francisco State and returned to Portland to establish the Black Studies program at Portland State in 1968 where he founded the African American Visual Arts Scholarship. Isaka was also artist-in-residence for Reed College.
Isaka’s expressive paintings illuminate the walls of many McMenamins locations, including Kennedy School, the Crystal Hotel, Hal’s Cafe, Ringler’s Pub, and the Crystal Ballroom. Many of his portraits bring to life legendary Black musicians who performed at the Crystal Ballroom during the golden age of Soul and R&B music in the early 1960s, including Mary Wells, Little Richard, and Wilson Pickett. Isaka’s work at Kennedy School includes a self-portrait, working side-by-side with his then-wife, painting the colorful mural that decorated the closed public school before opening as McMenamins in 1997. More fine examples of his work can be seen in the Kennedy School’s Boiler Room, including a portrait of Leroy Vinegar, the famous jazz bassist who made Portland his home. Other works by Isaka highlight a wide range of history, including his painting of Buffalo Soldier Sergeant Moses Williams, displayed at Gearhart Hotel on the Oregon coast.
Isaka Shamsud-Din passed away at the age of 85 on June 16, 2025. He leaves behind a legacy of unforgettable murals, paintings, and community leadership and will no doubt remain one of Portland’s most celebrated artists.
“Creating has been the mission of my life. As long as I am breathing, I’m doing art,” Isaka told The Oregonian in a 2020 interview. Thank you, Isaka Shamsud-Din, for continuing to create joy and wonder every time we see your work.
