Black Lives Matter

From the time of slavery to the modern-day, Black men have been repeatedly murdered throughout American history. On May 25th, 2020, during the pandemic, George Floyd was killed by a police officer which caused the bubble of racial tension to explode in America. Protests and riots followed as a result of his death and eventually led to the increase of the Black Lives Matter movement. Along with the protests, artwork was created throughout the world in support of BLM. African American artist, Amir Diop, created a mural in Soho to represent the prevalent discrimination and racism in America. The artwork portrays the exploitation of African Americans in society by big businesses in order to make a profit.

This is another art mural in New York City, created by Steve Epso Powers, that remembers the names of those that lost their lives as a result of police brutality. The 40 names incorporated into the memorial represent the struggle that BLM has taken on in order to stop the killings of unarmed African Americans. This memorial of those that lost their lives at the hands of the police demonstrates the desperate need for change. Similar to Powers, people throughout the world joined the fight for equality and created art in support of BLM. This issue was more than America and became a way for the world to offer their help in combating racial discrimination.

Although much progress has been made in the fight against racism and police brutality, these are still prevalent issues in our society. Continued attempts are being made to combat discrimination as the pandemic carries on. We must extract the hate embedded into America in order to promote positive growth in our society. BLM is still a powerful movement that is helping to terminate this violence and hate. Along with BLM, the artwork created to represent equality for African Americans will bring light to the continued efforts that need to be made.