George Floyd Protests: Oakland Artists Respond With Massive Black Lives Matter Mural, Tribute To Breonna Taylor
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – A Black Lives Matter mural stretching for three blocks was among artwork that popped up in Downtown Oakland over the weekend, amid ongoing calls seeking justice for George Floyd and to end police brutality.
Painted in big bright yellow letters, the message was painted along 15th Street and Broadway near City Hall.
Mayor Libby Schaaf posted on Instagram thanking volunteers for painting the mural.
Oakland's mural is similar to one commissioned by the mayor of Washington, DC that was recently painted on Pennsylvania Avenue leading up to The White House, an art installation that is even visible from space.
Nearby, artists also worked on a mural paying tribute to Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police earlier this year in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Taylor, who would have turned 27 last week, was killed when police barged into her apartment and shot her eight times while she was in her bed. The officers were investigating a drug operation in a home far from Taylor's.
The artists said they spent 27 hours creating the mural in her honor.
"We really feel like a lot of the black women who have been assassinated by the police, have not been highlighted quite as much," said Rozz Nash of the People's Conservatory. "We want to make sure that we're talking about our black men, our black women, our black trans women, our black trans men, we want to make sure we're talking about all those lives equally."
The mural honoring Taylor was painted by artists and volunteers with the People's Conservatory, an Oakland-based organization that provides arts programs for youth, that promote cultural awareness and social change.
