A mural of

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...

was painted by Emma Berger outside

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

's Apple Pioneer Place, on June 1, 2020, a week after his death, against the background of the ongoing protests against police brutality. She expanded the mural to show

Ahmaud Arbery On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.

and

Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor (June 5, 1993 – March 13, 2020) was an African-American woman who Killing of Breonna Taylor, was shot and killed while unarmed in her Louisville, Kentucky home by three police officers who entered under the auspices of a No-kn ...

and phrases associated with the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. The work was vandalized in August, and repaired by the artist. It was covered by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

in December for preservation, then removed in January 2021 to be donated to Don't Shoot PDX.

Description and history

Emma Berger painted a mural of

outside Apple Pioneer Place in

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

, on June 1, 2020. She completed the mural, which depicted Floyd and the phrase "I can't breathe", in approximately two hours and without seeking permission. Berger later added the faces of

and

, as well as the phrases "black lives matter" and "say their names". The image of Floyd is tall. Berger invited other artists to contribute to the mural; more faces, names, and background imagery were added on June 4. More artworks were added to the surrounding area. The mural was vandalized in August 2020; the text "

It's okay to be white "It's okay to be white" (IOTBW) is an alt-right slogan which originated as part of an organized Internet troll, trolling campaign on the website 4chan's discussion board /pol/ in 2017. A /pol/ user described it as a proof of concept that an ot ...

" was written in spray-paint. Berger returned to repair the artwork. In December 2020, Apple covered the mural for preservation. The work was removed in January 2021, and donated to Don't Shoot PDX.

Reception

The memorial was expanded by community members, who wrote poems using chalk and added candles. People also left flowers, pictures, and signs. According to

KOIN KOIN (channel 6) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Salem, Oregon, Salem–licensed The CW, CW owned-and-operated station KRCW-TV (channel 32). The two ...

's Ken Boddie, the work "became a national symbol". Apple described the mural as "a monumental art piece honoring the ongoing fight for justice" and said in a statement: "Apple stands in support of the artists and all who are fighting for social and racial justice. We are honored to have hosted the murals and are very happy to entrust the artwork to Don't Shoot Portland in support of their advocacy for social change." Don't Shoot PDX said the paintings "reflect the responses of so many that were witnesses to last summer's uprisings, answering the joint call to action against institutionalized violence and

white nationalism White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

References

External links

Painting the town: Murals meet the moment
at Oregon ArtsWatch
Photos: Art of the uprising
at ''

Street Roots ''Street Roots'' is a Portland, Oregon, United States–based homeless advocacy group and a weekly alternative newspaper that covers homeless issues. The newsprint is sold by and for the homeless in Portland. The paper is published every week an ...

'' {{Public art in Portland, Oregon 2020 establishments in Oregon 2020 paintings 2020s murals African-American history in Portland, Oregon Black Lives Matter art Memorials to George Floyd Murals in Oregon Murals of black people Paintings in Portland, Oregon Paintings of African-Americans Southwest Portland, Oregon Vandalized works of art in Portland, Oregon Monuments and memorials in Portland, Oregon

Description and history

Reception

See also

References

External links